Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2020
424. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures underway in her Department to tackle youth unemployment and to support young persons affected by the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42101/20]
View answerExperience from previous recessions has shown us that the impacts of labour market shocks are often disproportionately weighted towards younger people. Much of this impact can be related to employers operating a “first in, first out” approach when enforcing cutbacks and reducing their workforce. Research by my Department has shown that young people make up a significant share of workers in the sectors greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and resulting public health restrictions; namely the hospitality and retail sectors.
Youth unemployment stood at just over 10 percent in Q1 2020 based on the CSO’s Labour Force Survey data, with approximately 20,000 persons aged under 25 on the Live Register. By Q3 2020 these figures had increased to 20 percent and 25,000 respectively.
By end November, if we include PUP recipients in the figures, over 47 percent of young people in the labour force were unemployed, with one-in-four current PUP recipients (approx. 90,000) under the age of 25. However, it is important to note that, due to the unprecedented economic situation, the Government extended access to PUP to students who worked part-time. As a consequence almost one in four (approx. 21,000) of current PUP recipients aged under 25 have self-certified as students. These students would not normally be eligible for a jobseeker payment, or counted as unemployed using internationally recognised standards set by the International Labour Organisation.
While many young people, in particular those in receipt of PUP, will return to work when restrictions are eased, some jobs will inevitably be permanently lost. These individuals will require high levels of State support to re-find their footing in the labour market. We must also not forgot those young people who were unemployed prior to the pandemic and who face barriers to work.
That is why my Department and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science are developing a range of support measures to assist young people on their journey back to work. Measures being developed to combat unemployment, and youth unemployment in particular, include:
- Expanding the caseload capacity of Intreo Centres during Q1 2020 with the assignment of 100 job coaches to provide enhanced employment services and supports. Case officer support to help people with job search advice and assistance is shown to be the most effective means of helping people move into employment.
- Extending the current contracts of existing contracted public employment service providers into 2021. In particular the Local Employment Service is being extended into four new areas and the capacity of the service increased by 50%.
- Expanding the benefit of the JobsPlus recruitment subsidy to employers who hire young people. Under this scheme an employer receives the JobsPlus subsidy of €7,500 once they employ a young person (under 30 years of age) who has been unemployed for just 4 months. A higher subsidy of €10,000 is paid for recruitment of a person who is long term unemployed (over 12 months). This will help make it more attractive to recruit young people who face difficulties in securing a footing in employment. During 2021, 8,000 places will be available for young jobseekers under the Scheme.
- Providing access to additional full-time and part-time education, including targeted short-term courses, with over 35,000 new education and training places for those currently unemployed.
- Providing incentives to employers to take on more apprentices, with the provision of a grant of €3,000 to employers for each new apprentice recruited until June 2021. By end September, over 3,000 new apprenticeships with over 600 employers were registered.
- Facilitating access to the Back to Education Allowance and Back to Work Enterprise Allowance to those displaced by the pandemic by waiving the usual qualifying period of 3-9 months.
My Department is well advanced in developing a new work placement experience programme for those out of work for at least six months to encourage employers to provide jobseekers with the necessary workplace skills to compete in the labour market and to help break the vicious circle of “no job without experience, no experience without a job”. It is intended that the programme will support mentoring to encourage jobseekers to expand their horizons and avail of new learning options which can help them to grow into a new career. There is a target of over 10,000 persons, regardless of age, to be placed on this six month scheme by end 2021.
Work is also at an advanced stage by my Department to develop Pathways to Work, the national employment services strategy for the period 2021-2025. The strategy will seek to build on the support measures outlined above as we assist young people on their journey to work. Publication is expected in early 2021, following the launch of the Government's National Economic Plan.
In developing these policies, programmes and services, my Department is working closely with and being advised by the Labour Market Advisory Council which is composed of leading market experts, representatives of industry and workers and representatives of unemployed people. We will keep these programmes under review and report progress on a regular basis.
