Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil don Teachta mar gheall ar a chomhghairdeas dom féin agus don Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys.

JobBridge has provided a valuable work experience and development opportunity to more than 30,000 unemployed jobseekers with approximately 7,000 jobseekers currently engaged on an internship. Independent research has shown that 61% of interns progress to secure paid employment, a progression rate that is higher than for any other employment programme. JobBridge is designed to overcome the barrier whereby unemployed jobseekers need experience to secure a job offer but cannot gain experience without a job. Although it is a service for the benefit of jobseekers, JobBridge requires the voluntary co-operation and commitment of employers to offer internship opportunities. Host organisations have a responsibility to offer a quality internship and development experience to prospective interns to improve their employment prospects.

Since its inception in 2011, more than 13,000 employers have participated in the JobBridge scheme. All of the funding for the JobBridge scheme goes directly to the intern and no funding is provided to the host organisation. I wish to stress that participation in JobBridge is on a voluntary basis for both interns and host organisations. In line with standard international practice in the recruitment industry, the Department provides employers with an option not to publish their names on the JobBridge website. Regardless of whether the hosts name is published, JobBridge is intensely monitored by the Department. In this regard, more than 6,600 monitoring visits to employers have been carried out to date. In addition, the Department has a mandatory monthly reporting system for both host organisations and interns to ensure compliance with the spirit and rules of the scheme. If any issues are raised, particularly by the intern, these are fully investigated by the Department.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

I am satisfied that JobBridge is a very successful programme and I am confident that the extensive monitoring system put in place by the Department is effective at preventing any potential abuse of the scheme.

See this speech in context