Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 May 2018
435. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeline for the changes that will enable participants of JobPath to also participate on Tús and community employment schemes. [19071/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe primary goal of my Department’s activation services is to move people from unemployment to full-time and sustained employment. All jobseekers are required to engage with the Department’s activation service irrespective of whether the service is provided by the Department’s own case officers or those advisors employed by external contractors such as the JobPath providers.
Currently, once a jobseeker is referred to JobPath, they are required to complete the requisite time with the service and will not be referred to a Work Placement programme such as Community Employment (CE) and Tús, as they can only participate with one activation service at a time.
Having listened to the Department’s customers and those delivering local services, I was happy to announce that from 1 June this year, customers currently engaged with the JobPath service and those who may be referred in future will have the option of applying for CE and Tús placement while continuing to engage with JobPath.
This has a number of benefits both for the vital services provided at a local level by participants on CE and Tús programmes and directly for the Department’s customers. It maximises the assistance and services for people who are long-term unemployed through a combination of a quality work placement and personalised job seeking support provided through the JobPath service.
I am confident that our customers will benefit from the job seeking support of the JobPath service while also availing of part-time work experience and quality training and development opportunities provided by a Work Placement programme.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
