Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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342. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will, in conjunction with the Department of Social Protection, introduce a scheme for new college graduates, as a pilot scheme, similar to the social protection jobs plan initiative which incentivises business to hire additional employees off the live register and give a better opportunity to those graduated to avoid being on a demoralising long term dependancy on welfare and also provide them with on the job training and experience in a work situation. [25959/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government is tackling unemployment generally through the twin strategies: Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work. The aim of the Action Plan for Jobs is to support the creation of 100,000 net new jobs by 2016, while the objective of Pathways to Work is to provide those who are unemployed with the appropriate training and skills to avail of the job opportunities which will arise as the economy recovers.

The aim of the Action Plan for Jobs is to create a supportive environment for enterprise to create and sustain jobs. The Jobs Plus initiative is one of a series of strategic and reforming measures being implemented by Government. It incentivises businesses to hire jobseekers who have been on the Live Register for 12 months or more. All of the measures in the Action Plan for Jobs are designed to promote employment opportunities in different ways and many graduates will benefit from the implementation of these measures.

Given the scale of the unemployment crisis, the key objective of Government policy on activation and labour market initiatives is to offer assistance to those most in need of support in securing work and achieving financial self-sufficiency. This policy objective prioritises scarce resources to those in receipt of qualifying welfare payments. The major elements of the Government's response to targeting activation places and opportunities as set out in the Pathways to Work policy is aimed at ensuring that as many as possible of the job vacancies that are created are filled by people from the Live Register, with a particular focus on those who are long term unemployed or at risk of long-term unemployment.

The Government will spend more than €1 billion this year on supporting over 85,000 job placements, work experience and Back to Education beneficiaries, including through the “JobBridge” internship programme. Many young graduates will benefit from these opportunities. In addition, over 450,000 education and training places will be provided in the higher education, further education and training sectors. JobBridge, the national internship programme, is providing valuable work experience for many young people, including graduates. A recent independent evaluation conducted by Indecon Economic Consultants found that 61% of interns progress to paid employment after completing their internships. The Indecon evaluation clearly demonstrates that JobBridge is delivering for thousands of jobseekers by providing them with valuable opportunities to gain relevant work experience, knowledge and skills in a workplace environment. An increase in the number of places on the scheme, from 6,000 to 8,500, was announced in Budget 2013.

Further measures outlined in Ireland's National Reform Programme update for 2013, submitted by the Government to the European Commission in April, include further implementation of the ICT Action Plan, including the provision of 760 additional places on the ICT Graduate Conversion Programme. These programmes, which are designed and delivered in partnership with industry, are targeted at graduate jobseekers who wish to acquire honours degree level programming skills for employment opportunities in ICT.

In addition, the Labour Market Education & Training Fund, known as Momentum , will provide a range of quality, relevant education and training interventions for up to 6,500 individuals who are long term unemployed, including graduates. While participation in these programmes is conditional on recruitment from the Live Register, nonetheless all are available to graduates who find themselves unemployed. The Government's primary strategy to support job creation is to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery is essential to underpin jobs growth and to provide the opportunities sought by young graduates.