Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 September 2021
514. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if employers who were banned from the JobBridge scheme for abusing the scheme have been prevented from advertising positions on the work placement experience programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46523/21]
View answerThe Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) is a key policy initiative under the Government's new national employment services strategy; Pathways to Work 2021-2025. WPEP is a funded work placement scheme to provide work experience for jobseekers who have been unemployed for more than six months, including time spent on the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP). Participation on WPEP is entirely voluntary. All participants are paid €306 per week plus any social welfare increases for qualified adults and children. The intention is to provide quality and valuable work experience to unemployed persons and the scheme has been designed on this basis.
All WPEP placements are advertised on the Department’s online recruitment service website; jobsIreland.ie. All host organisations and individual placements are vetted for compliance and quality assurance purposes prior to being published on jobsireland.ie to ensure that each placement provides quality work experience and training opportunities for jobseekers.
In advance of advertising any placement opportunity, host organisations’ tax compliance is verified by the Department. Host organisation must confirm appropriate insurance and health and safety measures in place and accept the terms and conditions of the programme.
Each work placement published on JobsIreland is reviewed in advance to ensure that it provides sufficient information on the nature of the work experience and training being offered by the host. The provision of training to participants, is a pre-condition for host organisations to participate on the scheme. Options include a new accredited QQI work placement module available to all WPEP participants and delivered by the Education and Training Boards at QQI levels 3, 4 and 5. Host organisations must also demonstrate that they can provide supervision and mentoring to participants. Where the above requirements are not satisfied the placement will not be approved or advertised on jobsireland.ie.
Host organisations and individual placements are approved in accordance with these stringent WPEP eligibility criteria and not for any other reason.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
