Ms Nuala Whelan:

The Ballymun Job Centre has daily experience of working with and supporting jobseekers to identify and secure labour market opportunities. We, therefore, continually assess the barriers which prevent access to the labour market, the quality of activation programmes and their relevance in supporting jobseekers in moving towards sustainable employment.

An overview of the Ballymun Job Centre was provided in the documentation distributed prior to the meeting. According to Pathways to Work - implementation of the European Council's recommendation for a youth guarantee - the Youth Guarantee “will involve a mix of initial assessment, career guidance and planning, education and training or work experience, aimed at increasing the capacity of young people to access employment”. There is also a reference to “partnership between the public service agencies and local businesses and community groups” and other stakeholders. In many ways this reflects the Ballymun Youth Guarantee pilot scheme, which sought to design and implement a quality driven client-centred approach to supporting young people in their journey towards the labour market. The objective was to enable sustainable access rather than short-term outcomes.

The Ballymun Youth Guarantee pilot scheme ran from November 2013 to December 2014. During that time 739 young people were invited to participate. Some 679 young people aged from 18 to 24 years engaged and were in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment. The process involved activation by the Department of Social Protection through the Intreo office and attendance at a group information session. The clients were then referred to the Ballymun Job Centre, to the guidance team which consisted of five guidance officers and a team leader. They worked on a one to one basis with each client for a four month period, after which time a quality offer was made. This was underpinned by an inter-agency network. There were, therefore, national and local implementation groups, made up of key stakeholders. This ensured the process was flexible and able to respond effectively to the needs of jobseekers.

Before the young people were referred to the Ballymun Job Centre they were profiled in three target groups. Group one comprised clients who had received an education up to or less than junior certificate level, no work experience and numerous barriers to education and employment. Group two had completed their leaving certificate and some work experience. Group three had completed their leaving certificate or above and had some good work experience. This influenced the level of guidance provided for the jobseeker. The job centre’s key role was to pilot the delivery of an in-depth career guidance service. It consisted of a four-step process which included an initial assessment of the client's individual needs in respect of education, training, skills and personal circumstances and a tailored career guidance process which identified latent skills, abilities, preferred behavioural style in the workplace and so on. A range of evidence-based methodologies and tools were used to help in this assessment which informed the development of a career plan which included a career objective and some short-term career goals. Implementation of this plan was the fourth stage which was carried out in a very positive and supportive way.

We used this approach to achieve outcomes such as increased self-awareness, improved self-esteem, building career self-efficacy and helping the client to become more resilient in the labour market. This enabled sustainable access to the labour market rather than short-term career outcomes. Through the inter-agency approach a range of quality offers was developed, including further education and training programmes, supported employment such as community employment, Gateway, JobBridge, blended learning interventions and private sector employment. Target group one received 180 offers; group two, 283, while 99 offers were made to group three clients. For clients deemed not to be ready for employment services, a pre-offer was available which could, for example, include addiction counselling. Participants felt the Youth Guarantee was very beneficial, that it helped them to gain soft skills and experience in the labour market.

The national Youth Guarantee should be based on the objective of investing in young people in order to increase their employability and labour market sustainability in the long term. Some lessons from the pilot scheme include, at an organisational level, the adoption of a guidance policy by the Department of Social Protection and the definition of a quality guidance model in terms of the systems and structures that should be implemented. At a practitioner level, the skills and approach of the guidance practitioner are key to ensuring the client has a good quality journey to the labour market. At client level, a non-intimidating setting is paramount where trust and a good rapport can be established with the guidance practitioner.

Many jobseekers engaging with our services progressed to JobBridge. This was also the case with the Youth Guarantee pilot scheme and, in most cases, it has been a very positive experience. Mr. Maurice Devlin, in his evaluation of the Youth Guarantee pilot scheme, stated, “Providing young people with Work Experience is key: Skills can be taught but this is not the same as experience”. This is what most young people involved in the pilot scheme felt they needed to access the labour market. JobBridge, when seen as a quality offer and identified as an intervention that will assist the jobseeker in overcoming some of his or her labour market barriers or meeting a particular need, can be very positive. Feedback from jobseekers is that they need experience for their CV, curriculum vitae. It helps them to build self-esteem, their social capital and motivation. JobBridge can be a positive intervention when used in the right way, when the jobseeker has identified a need which it will fulfil when the internship has been identified as part of a career plan and when the employer has identified the experience on offer. Some evaluation reports are available on welfare.ie. They were conducted around the Youth Guarantee pilot scheme.