I propose to take Questions Nos. 548 to 550, inclusive, together.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection provides a range of activation supports catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. These supports include the JobPath service.
My Department selects clients for the JobPath service by means of a random selection process and protocols for selection currently preclude the selection of anyone who has already completed 52 weeks with the JobPath service within the previous four months. If, however, at the end of this period the jobseeker has not engaged in other activation supports and services they then become eligible for selection for a subsequent period of activation on the JobPath programme.
To date just over 21,000 jobseekers have commenced a second engagement period with the service, having availed of the service previously and 25 people have commenced a third engagement period.
Jobseekers referred for a subsequent referral will start working with a Personal Advisor, who will review their development during their previous engagements with the service and together they will prepare a new personal progression plan to build on that progress. The actions and tasks agreed will be based on their previous engagements, with particular focus on the identified barriers, which are preventing the person moving into full-time suitable employment.
To date, some 47,000 jobseekers have commenced employment during their engagement period with JobPath as set out in table 1. It should be noted that the figures presented are representative of the entire cohort of JobPath clients between July 2015 and February 2019 and all job starts in the same period. Many clients who are currently engaged with JobPath are still in the first phase of the service and will not have had sufficient time with the service to have gained employment nor sustain that employment for up to 52 weeks. Performance will improve as more clients complete their engagement with the service and have a chance to reach 52 weeks in employment.
I trust that this clarifies matter for the deputy.Table 1:
Jobseekers referred
|
209,538
|
Jobseekers with a second referral
|
21,846
|
Jobseekers with a third referral
|
25
|
Currently engaged
|
77,252
|
Commenced employment
|
47,482
|
Jobs sustained for 13 weeks to date
|
28,582
|
Jobs sustained for 26 weeks to date
|
21,363
|
Jobs sustained for 39 weeks to date
|
16,152
|
Jobs sustained for 52 weeks to date
|
12,137
|