To date the total amount paid to those providing the JobPath service is €259.6m. The yearly spend on JobPath is provided in the following table.
|
Year
|
Expenditure
|
|
2015
|
€1.2m
|
|
2016
|
€25.2m
|
|
2017
|
€57.4m
|
|
2018
|
€71.7m
|
|
2019
|
€58.6m
|
|
2020
|
€36.2m
|
|
2021
|
€9.3m (to date)
|
|
Total
|
€259.6m
|
Last October, I announced an extension of referrals to the JobPath service for a further twelve months until the end of 2021. At that time I also announced similar extensions to the Local Employment Services, Job Clubs and EmployAbility to ensure their services extended into 2021.
These measures were taken in order to ensure the Public Employment Service had sufficient capacity to support those impacted by the pandemic with access to employment services during 2021.
While new referrals to the JobPath service will cease at the end of December, there will be a run out period enabling existing clients to complete their engagement with the service. In the interim, my Department is continuing to examine procurement options for the provision of all contracted employment services to ensure that the Public Employment Service has sufficient capacity in 2022 to support all those who need our assistance and help in securing new employment.
In 2019, my Department published an econometric review, in partnership with the OECD, measuring the JobPath service's effectiveness. Findings showed that weekly earnings of people who secured employment after JobPath engagement were 17% higher than the weekly employment earnings of people who secured employment without the support of JobPath. Taken with the 26% improvement in employment outcomes – the likelihood of a person getting a job - in the same period, it means the overall positive impact was 37% in 2018 for those supported by the JobPath service.
