Ms Edel McGinley:

This is an ongoing problem for years. We carried out research in late 2020 and early 2021 looking at the experiences of people in the labour market and what would help them progress. A number of recommendations arose from that, one of which concerned recognition of qualifications. However, it was more than that. It was recognition of experience. People have worked for many years in different contexts and that is not taken into account by employers. It is almost like they go back to zero.

People also identified early career guidance. If people arrive here and their skills are not recognised, they would receive guidance on where and how they should retrain and what they should retrain in. Mentorship and coaching was another area people mentioned. When they move, they do not have the same social, historical and local networks. People identified the need for mentoring and coaching to be connected with people and help them navigate the labour market and skills and training. That was felt to be important.

The role of employment services and recruitment agencies was raised, particularly the former, to help people navigate the labour market. It is not just about a job, but about the labour market, what it looks like and how an individual can progress in it over time. In the workplace, skills for work were identified, such as employment support for language acquisition that helps people progress in a particular employment setting. There is different vocabulary for different settings. A lot of that was carried out by the old FÁS and these programmes have been cut over the years. They are important. How do people acquire good language skills and how is that supported by the State and employers?

Many people talked about transparency in recruitment and promotion processes internally and addressing discrimination more broadly in accessing the labour market and while in it. These recommendations came out of what people were saying and what they felt would have helped them in the labour market. We can send the research to the clerk to the committee if that is of interest and use to the committee.