Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 April 2013
114. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider amending the eligibility criteria for the JobBridge scheme to allow a person complete more than one internship beyond the current limit of nine months to facilitate those who have not yet secured employment and who wish to improve their employment prospects by gaining more experience. [19667/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs of 1st April, 2013, 16,545 people had commenced internships with the JobBridge scheme. There are circa 6,000 people currently on internships and provision was made in Budget 2013 to increase this to 8,500 places.
It is essential to strike a balance between our commitments to combat unemployment through the up-skilling opportunities provided by quality internship placements that offer real workplace experience, on the one hand, and the potential to destabilise the normal functioning of the labour market and a consequent reduction of opportunities for permanent employment, on the other. In particular, the time limits placed on participation are designed to ensure that.
The increase in the number of available places reflects the fact that progression rates into employment from the scheme at circa 61% (measured over a 5 month period post completion) are very high compared to other schemes. In particular, the scheme appears to be very effective at improving the employment prospects of people who are long-term unemployed.
Given the positive impact of the scheme, it is as important that as many people as possible can get access to the available places. It is for this reason and in order to minimise deadweight and labour market distortion, that a limit was placed on the total time that any individual can spend on an internship.
The Department has recently received an independent report on the scheme from Indecon Economic consultants and I expect to publish the report in early May. The report confirms the positive impact of the scheme and suggests a number of areas for improvement. I will consider the suggestion made by the Deputy as part of the process of reviewing the findings of the Indecon Report.
