Terry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. I seem to have been looking through the same statistics as Senator Jim D'Arcy and will try to avoid repetition. Springboard Plus, which incorporates the ICT skills conversion programme, is fully funded through the national training fund. It complements the core State-funded education and training system and is one of a number or special initiatives designed to support people back into employment and build the supply of skilled graduates for vacancies arising across key sectors of the economy.

A fourth phase of Springboard Plus is being rolled out, providing for 9,000 places at level 6, higher certificate, to level 9, masters degree, on the national framework of qualifications. Courses will be run on both a part-time and full-time or accelerated basis in 42 public and private higher education providers throughout the country. Like Senator D'Arcy, I compliment Dundalk Institute of Technology on its programme.

Springboard Plus is included in the Action Plan for Jobs and is one of the Skills To Work programmes. The Action Plan for Jobs is a central pillar of our strategy for economic recovery and includes actions to be taken across government. It was conceived against the backdrop of the domestic jobs crisis and challenging economic conditions. It has involved putting in place a comprehensive framework of actions and reforms right across the public sector and in partnership with industry to create a new, sustainable economy based on exports, innovation and enterprise. It includes a commitment to seeing full employment of 2.1 million by the end of 2018.

The initiative is being rolled out to the regions through the Action Plan for Jobs regional initiative to ensure communities throughout the country benefit from the recovery. The objective of this new initiative is to strengthen and develop job creation in the regions by encouraging local authorities, regional bodies, higher education institutions, other public bodies, the private sector and communities to come forward with innovative ideas to boost job creation in their area.

Skills to Work brings together the key Government initiatives introduced since 2011 to support jobseekers to access the training and work experience they need and encourage businesses to employ people currently on the live register. The five programmes that come under the Skills to Work initiative are Springboard, MOMENTUM, Skillnets, JobBridge and JobsPlus. Springboard provides free upskilling in higher education in areas of identified skills need. The initiative's primary target group is unemployed people with a previous history of employment. To date, some €85 million has been allocated to Springboard from Exchequer funding, providing for more than 21,000 places.

All courses approved for funding under Springboard are selected by an independent panel with industry and educational expertise following a competitive tendering process. In particular, courses with a proven track record in getting people back into employment are recommended for funding. Courses approved for funding focus on areas such as ICT, high-end manufacturing, international financial services, skills to trade internationally, and entrepreneurial and business start-up skills. Work placements of three to six months will be offered on almost all of the courses. A further €27.4 million will be allocated to Springboard Plus this year, providing for 9,000 places on 285 courses in 42 colleges throughout the country.To be eligible for a place on a Springboard course a person must be unemployed, actively seeking employment, and be in receipt of one of the range of qualifying social protection payments, or be signing for credits or be previously self-employed. It is worth noting that there is no requirement to be in receipt of a payment for a particular period of time prior to the commencement of the programme.

The profile of Springboard participants from 2011 to 2015 shows that the programme has been very successful in reaching its target. A total of 63% of participants were aged between 25 and 39 and 61% had been out of work for more than a year, an increase from 58% in 2011. Participants are mostly men but year on year there is an upward trend in women participants. There were 74% men and 26% women in 2011 and it was 64% men and 36% women in 2014. Data show that while participants who were long-term unemployed at the start of their course find it more difficult to get employment, 45% of this group now achieve employment or self-employment within six months of completing a Springboard course. That is truly remarkable and an indication of the success of the programme.

A survey of all graduates between 2011 and 2014 indicates that within two years of completing a Springboard course, 60% are employed or self-employed, and 74% of Springboard participants from those years are no longer on the live register.