Written answers

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Department of Social Protection

Youth Guarantee

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

214. To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 75 of 1 May 2014, since that reply issued, the number of persons who have had their jobseeker's benefit or jobseeker's allowance reduced or suspended for refusing to take part in JobBridge under the youth guarantee. [13018/15]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Under the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan, the Department is committed to developing an internship/work experience scheme for the most disadvantaged young people in the 18-24 age brackets who have been identified as having significant barriers to gaining employment.

Under First Steps, employers will be asked to make work experience places available for young people aged 18 to 24 with low levels of educational attainment, long periods of unemployment and other social barriers to employment.

First Steps builds on experience over the past two years of working with large employers such as Tesco and Diageo, who provided young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with work experience and training programmes in their organisations. It also takes account of the positive experience of the use of JobBridge as part of the pilot Youth Guarantee programme in Ballymun.

The aim of First Steps is to bring disadvantaged young people closer to the labour market by providing them with a work placement experience, where they gain the opportunity to learn and develop basic work and social skills in organisations in the private, public, voluntary and community sectors.

It is proposed that, at any one time, 1,500 – 2,000 people will have access to First Steps. Letters have been issued to more than 3,500 employers in the private, public, voluntary and community sectors, inviting them to participate as a sponsor in the programme and seeking expressions of interest.

Subject to responses from employers, it is expected that the first intake to the programme will be in April/May 2015. Referrals to the scheme can commence subject to the provision of places by sponsoring employers.

The participation of clients, once referred, will be non-discretionary and legislation provides that penalty rate sanctions will apply to a jobseeker who fails, without good cause, to participate.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.