Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish Deputy Kyne a happy new year. It is very unusual for a Government backbencher to have two priority questions, so he should invest in a national lottery ticket tonight.

JobPath is a new approach to employment activation to support long-term unemployed people and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain employment. Two companies, Turas Nua and Seetec, have been contracted by the Department to deliver JobPath services. The roll-out of JobPath began last July on a soft launch basis and, as I stated earlier, the two pilots were in Bray and Longford. At the end of 2015, in excess of 7,500 jobseekers from 41 of the Department’s Intreo centres and local offices had been referred to JobPath. Of the 7,500 jobseekers referred, 1,000 were from the Galway and Mayo area. The JobPath companies have a year to work with each jobseeker in order to secure employment. As the service is in the roll-out phase and as no participant has completed the JobPath programme, there are as yet no meaningful statistics available on employment outcomes.

The JobPath companies will be subject to regular on-site inspections and audits to ensure that JobPath is delivered in accordance with contractual obligations. The Department will also commission customer satisfaction surveys to independently assess if customers are satisfied with the level and quality of service delivered by the contractors. Failure by the contractors to satisfy the Department’s inspectors or to achieve a satisfactory score in the independent survey will result in payment penalties being applied.

Participants on JobPath receive intensive individual support to help them address barriers to employment and to find jobs. Each person is assigned a personal adviser, who assesses the person's skills, experience, challenges and work goals and agrees a personal progression plan that includes a schedule of activities, actions and job-focused targets. Participants are provided with a range of development supports and may also be referred for further education and training opportunities.

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