Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the consultation he has had with the Department of Social Protection regarding the jobbridge scheme; his views on whether the current scheme is adequate in scale in the context of the jobs crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51855/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The JobBridge internship scheme is part of the Government’s approach to helping unemployed people to get back to work. The scheme falls within the responsibility of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton.

The objective of JobBridge is to help those seeking employment to gain valuable work experience and enhance their prospects of securing employment. It is just one element of the Department of Social Protection's wider activation programme, under the Pathways to Work strategy.

JobBridge is overseen by a Steering Group chaired by Martin Murphy, CEO of Hewlett Packard, and involving a range of stakeholders. My Department is represented on the Steering Group and has been an active participant since the Group was established in May of last year.

A total of 5,000 places were provided for JobBridge on a rolling basis when it was launched in July 2011. A recent interim evaluation of the scheme by Indecon shows that more than half of the participants found employment following their participation on JobBridge. This evaluation confirmed the picture that had been emerging for the Steering Group on the basis of data on uptake and outcomes of the scheme.

Given the success of the scheme since its inception, Minister Burton announced an increase of 1,000 additional places on the scheme on 9th May last. This brings the total number of places available to 6,000. As of 15th November, there were 5,395 interns participating on the scheme, with a further 1,173 going through the approval process within the Department of Social Protection. There are currently 1,852 internship posts being advertised by host companies for applications from prospective interns, which are spread throughout the country.

Consideration of any further increases in the number of internship places available under the scheme is a matter for the Minister for Social Protection.