Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 February 2024
86. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the new youth employability funding scheme will be announced; how much has been set aside; the application criteria; when he expects to announce recipients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9194/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI was very pleased to secure an additional €1 million in the Budget to support the Targeted Youth Employability Support Initiative, or TYESI, in 2024. The aim of this important scheme is to engage and support harder to reach young people, aged from 15 to 24, who are not in employment, education, or training.
The focused interventions are intended to provide community-based support to assist young people to attain a level of confidence and agency to engage in a wide range of currently available progression routes into education or employment including return to education through Youthreach, or entering the workforce through Community Employment Schemes and apprenticeships.
The TYESI was first run as a pilot project in 2021. The pilot has been evaluated, and the findings have been incorporated into the new TYESI scheme.
The evaluation found that a key value of the TYESI is that is delivered by youth workers in the young people’s community. Local youth workers can develop community linkages and interagency linkages, to provide tailor-made supports to assist each young person in developing their employability skills.
The TYESI is administered at the local level by the sixteen Education and Training Boards. My officials issued the application forms and guidance notes for the Initiative to the ETBs on 9 February. The ETBs are currently adverting the initiative and will manage the application process in their functional areas.
I will be announcing the successful applicants before the summer.
