Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 June 2021
346. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection the total amount of funding allocated for the training support grant; the courses or training opportunities for which the grant has been used; and her plans to increase the amount of the training support grant in Budget 2022. [32537/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Training Support Grant, available through my Department, is designed to support quick access to short-term training where the training is not delivered by a State provider. The grant can be provided where an immediate skills gap is identified that represents an obstacle to taking up a job offer or accessing other opportunities. The grant can be used for training up to level 6 on the QQI or training such as safe pass, driving licences, HACCP or security industry permits as appropriate.
There is a provision of €11.3m for this support for 2021 to help with the training needs of up to 12,000 individuals. As part of the July Stimulus the funding available through this grant was doubled from €500 to €1,000. This ensures that greater funding is available for individual jobseekers to assist with their short term training costs.
Any further changes to the provision for this grant would have to be considered in a budgetary context. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
