My Department is now at an advanced stage in its first phase of a two-phase procurement of new employment services.
This procurement process follows extensive consultations by my Department with the existing service providers over the last number of years.
Officials in my Department also visited every Local Employment Service and Job Club in 2019 to get their views on what a new employment service model would look like. Many of the suggestions made then, including multi-annual contracts and greater financial autonomy, were incorporated into the Regional Employment Services model. In addition, the external consultants engaged by the Department in late 2019 engaged a cross-section of relevant stakeholders.
My officials will continue the ongoing dialogue with the stakeholders and employee representatives and will engage further with them before finalising the Phase two procurement. However, my Department must adhere to its public procurement obligations and the need to adhere to best practices in terms of strengthening governance requirements. This will be achieved by procuring these new high-quality employment services in an open and competitive manner that is fair to all interested parties and will deliver consistent employment service provision across the State.