Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We are just starting on the Pathways to Work process and, as Deputy O'Dea noted, it is a question of identifying these people and their skills levels. These data were not gathered in the past but they form part of the new Pathways to Work profiling project. It will take a number of years to build up the profile as new people come into the system.

In regard to Senator Moloney's related question, just under 5,000 people are on JobBridge placements currently, and more than 4,000 have completed placements. Indecon is conducting a review of JobBridge. When the initiative was first introduced, I gave a commitment to this committee and the Dáil that we would seek to put in place online monitoring in order that we could learn as we go. We began the examination of JobBridge earlier in the summer and I expect the report on that will be with me. At present, we can identify the areas in which participants in JobBridge are working. Approximately 25% of those who go on placements are graduates. These are highly skilled people, some with postgraduate or even doctoral degrees, who cannot find jobs because they do not have experience and cannot get experience without finding employment. They are in a catch-22 and the purpose of JobBridge, with a six or nine month timeline, is to give them that experience and opportunity.

In terms of what people are doing, I can only give members a flavour of our initial data. I will revert to the committee when we have the detailed data. A fair number of people on JobBridge are going to small and medium-sized employers and in many cases they are finding further employment either directly through that employer or by building up a network. A number of people are also going into public bodies and community and voluntary organisations. Clearly the capacity of those organisations to offer jobs subsequent to placements is more limited. For example, more than 80 people are working on games development with the GAA. We have done considerable work with the GAA on establishing a sports development programme. People can develop contacts and networks by working with clubs.

In respect of the questions raised by Deputy Ó Snodaigh and Senator Healy Eames, I am interested in developing a profile of traineeships over a longer period. Ironically, there is great demand in the IT sector in this country at the highest level but that demand is repeated throughout Europe. I am pleased to say the Government is investing heavily in programmes like Springboard and Skillnets and on conversion courses for professionals such as construction engineers, architects and CAD designers who found themselves without work as a result of the collapse of the construction industry. My Department is spending just under €1 billion on job related supports in addition to the other social welfare payments we make. Other jobseekers have left school early or at leaving certificate level and need traineeships which provide training and work experience that assist them in finding employment. Deputy O'Dea referred to Germany and Austria. In both these countries education and on-the-job training are interrelated. This is a very successful feature of the German system and could be investigated profitably by this country. The Minister for Education and Skills is dealing with a Bill on education and training and reform of the VEC structure. My Department sits on the board of the group which is progressing that development. It is important from a social welfare point of view that unemployed people have relevant opportunities and, in particular, relevant apprenticeships and traineeships. We all know that with the collapse in construction, apprenticeships have suffered a severe reduction in terms of numbers, and we need to look to the future.

In regard to pension portability, I will bear in mind what Deputy O'Dea said. The advice from the European Commission is that a number of countries are ready to move on this issue but, as he will know from his long experience as a Minister in the previous Government, the agreement of member states is needed on proposals from the Commission. The Commission is optimistic that progress can be made but the Deputy will understand how these matters work.