Willie Penrose
Ceist:11. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to review the JobPath programme. [19220/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 3 May 2018
Ceisteanna (11)
Freagraí ó Béal (7 píosaí cainte)
In a context in which the level of long-term unemployment is thankfully falling rapidly, will the Minister continue the JobPath programme? Will a value-for-money review of the programme be provided for? I ask these questions in the context of the welcome announcement that from 1 June people will be able to participate in community employment schemes and Tús. If they were not allowed to participate, many schemes across the country would collapse.
I recently announced that people engaged with the JobPath service would, from 1 June, have the option of applying for community employment scheme and Tús placements while continuing to work with the JobPath programme. This will ensure jobseekers can benefit both from the job-seeking support of the JobPath service and also avail of part-time work placements provided by Tús or under the community employment scheme. I believe the Deputy is aware that community employment scheme host companies and the ILDN have been in contact with me on a number of occasions in the past year to voice their concern that the vacancy rate for the very valuable services they provide in their counties is too high. The change which will come into effect on 1 June was an easy decision to make and I was pleased to make it.
JobPath is an employment activation service designed to support long-term unemployed persons to secure sustainable employment. Those who engage with the service are assigned a dedicated employment personal adviser who works with them on a one-to-one basis. The providers work with employers to source jobs that are suitable for the jobseekers concerned. To date, approximately 160,000 participants have engaged with the service.
Case management services such as those provided by JobPath providers and the Department’s Intreo service and the local employment service are shown internationally to be the most effective form of what is known as an active labour market programme. Other types of programme include training programmes and schemes such as the community employment scheme and Tús. They also provide important supports. However, they should be delivered alongside case management services, rather than as an alternative to such services.
In 2017, as part of an ongoing programme of tracking customer satisfaction, the Department commissioned an independent survey of customer experience of the JobPath service. Between 76% and 81% of customers surveyed were satisfied with the service and believed JobPath had improved their chances of finding a job. Furthermore, the Department has published four performance reports covering those who commenced engagement with the service between July 2015 and June 2016. Employment outcomes among this group are higher than among other groups not referred to the service. These data and the results of the surveys are available on the Department’s website. In addition, the Department regularly carries out on-site inspections to ensure the JobPath programme is delivered in accordance not only with the contractual obligations but also the motivations and ambitions the Department has for the service.
Additional information not given on the floor of House
To date, 54 on-site inspections have been carried out and, again, the results have been satisfactory.
A full econometric evaluation of the service has commenced and is expected to be completed by the start of quarter 4 of this year. Although I have no plans to review the service at this time, the results of the econometric review will inform our approach during 2019.
I understand the Minister has embarked on an econometric review of the JobPath programme. I am asking that a value for money review be included. I also believe there should be an assessment of the number of people focused on by JobPath aged 60 years and over. I know that many people living in rural areas, particularly women, who were targeted by JobPath could not participate. The programme was managed in a heavy-handed manner and I was very annoyed about it. I am surprised by the satisfaction statistics the Minister has outlined because I certainly did not pick up on them. It is good news that the level of unemployment has fallen. That is welcome, but I certainly do not share the rosy view of JobPath the Minister seems to hold. It did not allow people to participate in community employment schemes and Tús. It blocked their participation in such schemes and the Minister has correctly removed the blockage. I am aware that she has received advice from many people, including from within her Department.
I agree with the Deputy. Bad news tends to travel around the world much more quickly than good news.
However, the survey and, importantly, the job numbers arising from this programme speak for themselves. It is probably the most successful activation programme in the history of the State.
We are conducting an econometric review, the purpose of which is to evaluate JobPath as a service and accurately estimate the impact of its interventions on people's labour market outcomes. My Department is developing a new approach using cluster analysis. The review will spread long-term jobseekers who have engaged with JobPath into clusters based on age, gender, location, employment history, education and other distinctions. It will then examine the actual interventions that each of these clusters experienced and, using a statistical analysis, identify which led to the best outcomes for each cohort. I hope that this will provide a sound, evidence-based database for the improvement of our existing activation services and the design of new ones. Work on the review has commenced and I hope to have it before the end of the year.
Surely the Department will now be able to support people into employment using its own resources instead of outsourcing that work. Regarding CE schemes, surely it is time to change the criteria and allow participants who reach 60 or 61 years of age to continue in those schemes for the next two, three or four years, which would bring them up to the pension age if they have not been in a position to secure alternative employment. For example, the Minister is aware of Dún na Sí Amenity and Heritage Park in Moate. Many of the people who have reached 60 or 61 years of age and have done their five years wish to continue on. They have no hope of securing alternative employment. A lot of work is being done, but CE schemes are part rehabilitation as well as part retraining and part activation. The Moate scheme was starved of people because they were not allowed to continue. The changes that the Minister has made will help, but people who have reached a certain age should be allowed to continue if they have not been able to secure alternative employment or activation. The Minister should make that change.
As I stated at the outset, representations have been made to me by CE host companies and the Irish Local Development Network, ILDN, over the past year. They needed more people to ensure the viability of the services and supports they offered to the people on the schemes and the communities they supported. That is why we made the change.
The Deputy may be under the wrong impression that JobPath providers stopped people from joining CE and Tús schemes. People were simply not allowed to do so under the programme. We do not allow people to be on two schemes simultaneously. It was probably because we had too many people on the unemployment register at one point that this was not possible. Thankfully, the number of people on the register is now dropping, which is why we were able to make the change last week. If the number ever increases again, though, we will have to reconsider that.
I share the Deputy's view on the age limitations. I have been working on this matter since I was lucky enough to be placed in this role last year. I have been unsuccessful so far, but I have another magic ace up my sleeve, so we might discuss the issue again.
I hope the Minister wins that battle.