Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 476: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which she has provided for or intends to provide for the utilisation of the skills of persons who have recently become unemployed with particular reference to ensuring that such skills are not lost to the workforce; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24795/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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To ensure individuals continue to utilise the skills gained from training, education or previous employment the Government introduced the Work Placement Programme. Under this programme individuals can gain valuable work experience for periods of up to nine months, thereby ensuring that they use the skills they have developed and they maintain close links with the labour market. The Work Placement Programme is available to individuals of all skill levels including graduates and participants may retain their social welfare entitlements subject to the normal social welfare rules applying.

The Community Employment Scheme is an employment and training programme, which helps long-term unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine. The programme enables individuals to use and enhance both their technical and personal skills, which can then be used in the workplace. In the last Budget, the Government increased the number of Community Employment places by 500, bringing the total number of places on the scheme to 23,300.

There is also a range of part-time and full-time further and higher education programmes being provided by universities, Institutes of Technology, Vocational Education Committees and FÁS which enable participants to upskill and reskill to help them succeed in a knowledge based economy. The increase in demand for education opportunities can clearly be seen in the significant increase in the number of Back to Education Allowance recipients, up to over 18,000, many of whom are participating in further and higher education programmes.

In addition to these measures, the Government have introduced the Employer Jobs (PRSI) Incentive Scheme. Under this scheme where an employer creates a new job and takes on a person who has been unemployed for 6 months or more, the employer will be fully exempted from the liability to pay PRSI for the first year of that employment. The Government will continue to do all in its power to create the environment for new job opportunities and provide the necessary supports and assistance to enable those who are unemployed utilise and develop their skills, which will improve their chances of securing a job in the future.