Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)

I thank the Minister for her presence. I put down this motion because I believe in internships. I realise there has been a good deal of criticism in the media in recent weeks about the programme but I believe in our having a national internship scheme. I am keen for the country to have an internship scheme because I have seen it implemented successfully throughout other European countries and the USA. It can be really positive. The reason behind the motion is my alarm at some of the placement notices which have been re-written in recent days. They made me think again. For example, one referred to a dynamic self-starter willing to work on their own. For me, this is not what an internship is about. I decided to talk to various organisations, employers and people currently on the programme to try to understand what was at the nub of the problem.

The programme in Ireland is aimed at small, medium and large companies. Many of the larger companies have experience of internships probably from their home base in the USA or European markets. As a country we are not as used to internships. This has highlighted the need for employers to be given guidance on exactly what constitutes an internship programme and how to ensure the person placed on the programme gets the necessary induction and on-the-job training. Employers should give a budget towards training of staff as appropriate or attendance at conferences or seminars depending on what they are doing. The employees will have been unemployed for some time and they probably will have something of a buzz because they now have a place and are now a part of something important. That is great but it lasts only a few weeks. How do we ensure there is an incentive and for the nine months they have ongoing upskilling, training and sharing? I am keen to ensure that the training programme is monitored. I welcome the Minister's commitment to evaluation. I have heard the Minister indicate that there will be continuous evaluation and I welcome that commitment. However, we must ensure that we amend the programme as we learn the lessons.

Mentoring is important and someone should be assigned within the company to each internee such that he or she has a role model, someone to strive for them and someone to show them the way. I welcome the programme. JobBridge is a good initiative on paper but I am fearful of how it is being translated on the ground. It has been shown up on the ground and it appears we do not have the experience or expertise within our companies. I am not anti-company and I believe in internships. Some companies are doing wonderfully but others do not have the experience and do not necessarily have someone in human resources. In these difficult times companies sometimes cut human resources services which are critical and those involved in internships are not getting the support. When introducing an internship scheme we must ensure the support is in place for the employers and those placed. A person in an internship should receive training so that when he or she leaves, he or she will know exactly what he or she is coming out with and what has been gained so that when he or she goes for interview for a great job he or she will understand how to translate those skills. One of the things we have seen in the market is the need for adaptability and flexibility of skills.

I tabled the matter on the Adjournment because I was concerned. I sought to ring an alarm bell and to ensure we take steps so that the internship programme works in the way the Minister intended. It should not simply be a job filler, it should be something a great deal more. As someone who comes from the community and voluntary sector I have seen how the community employment scheme became devalued over the years. My fear is that JobBridge will become devalued over time.

An internship should be something of which one is proud of on one's curriculum vitae. It has a standard. An employer should know that if someone has done a JobBridge internship, they had to go through certain hoops and that there was a certain level of training and standards. My concerns relate to those aspects of the internship programme and this is why I have raised the matter.