Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

JobBridge, the national internship scheme, is part of the Government's job initiative and was launched on 1 July 2011. As of last Friday, a total of 2,477 internship opportunities with host organisations were available on the website. To date 1,769 interns have commenced an internship under the JobBridge scheme. Of these, 625 individuals have converted their work placement programme placement into a JobBridge internship to avail of the €50 top-up. In other words, some 1,100 people on internships had not been doing any other job placement or internship beforehand. The aim of JobBridge is to assist individuals bridge the gap between unemployment and the world of work. JobBridge aims to offer individuals of all skill levels, ranging from those who left school early to highly qualified graduates and postgraduates, a unique opportunity to develop new skills and earn valuable experience. JobBridge can offer a diverse range of jobseekers a chance that will at the very least improve their prospects of securing employment in future.

Feedback on the scheme has revealed that there have been many excellent internships for non-graduates in the retail, catering and services sectors where participants are learning new skills, staying in touch with the labour market and putting themselves in a better position to get a full-time job. Measures to minimise displacement include the following: all host organisations must declare in their application that they are not displacing an employee and that they have no vacancy in the specific area; the JobBridge team, part of the FÁS team in County Offaly, checks all applications against recent vacancies advertised on the FÁS Jobs Ireland website; and if the JobBridge team suspects that displacement may be an issue, it can liaise with regional FÁS management to find out more information on the company.

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In order for all applications from host organisations to be approved they must also meet a number of criteria so as to ensure the potential internships are of sufficient quality. These include the following: that the internship does not allow the intern to work unsupervised; and that the intern accrues significant experience throughout the entire internship. In order for an internship to commence a standard internship agreement must be signed by both the intern and the host organisation. This agreement clearly stipulates the terms of the internship and states the specific learning outcomes the intern will receive over the course of their internship.

To ensure compliance with the scheme, my Department and the JobBridge team are monitoring internships to ensure that both host organisations and interns are abiding by the spirit and rules of the scheme.

This involves the monitoring of monthly compliance reports which the host organisation uses to verify that the internship is proceeding as set out in the standard internship agreement. In addition, contact with the host organisations and interns including random site visits will begin shortly as part of this process.

The scheme also has a whistle blowing feature, where any individual who suspects that an internship may be in breach of the scheme's criteria, including in cases of suspected displacement or poor quality, may contact the national call centre. All such claims will be investigated. Where it is proven that displacement has occurred in a host organisation their internship opportunities will be removed and they will not be allowed to participate in JobBridge.

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