Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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165. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the total number of companies that have been disqualified from the JobBridge scheme following investigations by his Department in the period since the scheme was established on an annual basis, in tabular form; the total annual number of recipients which were participating on the scheme in companies that were subsequently disqualified with a breakdown by employment sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2497/17]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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166. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the total number and percentage of JobBridge scheme participants that secured paid employment within three, six, nine and 12 months of completing an internship on an annual basis, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2498/17]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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167. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the total number of persons that have participated in the JobBridge national internship programme on a county basis; the total annual number of participants that dropped out of the scheme before completion on a county basis and on an annual basis, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2499/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 165 to 167, inclusive, together.

JobBridge was introduced in July 2011 in response to the unprecedented collapse of our economy and particularly the sharp and dramatic increase in unemployment. Its main aim was to help unemployed jobseekers to break the vicious cycle of ‘no experience no job, but no job no experience’. Since then over 19,000 Host Organisations have offered work placement opportunities to over 48,000 participants. A detailed breakdown of participants on a county basis is available in Appendix 1.

My Department does not compile the detailed progression statistics on an annual basis requested, however the findings of the recent external evaluation of JobBridge by Indecon Economic Consultants shows that it has been very effective in improving the employment outcomes of jobseekers. It indicates that 79% of participants – over 38,000 people – have had some period of employment since completing their placement, with over 64% still in employment. Compared to non-participants, jobseekers who participated in JobBridge improved their employment outcomes by 32%. By any measure this is a significant uplift and shows that placements with a direct link to an employer deliver higher employment outcomes than other options.

Appendix 2 contains tables on employment progression outcomes highlighted in the Indecon evaluation. Table 5.13 shows progression outcomes by length of time since the internship finished. Table 5.10 shows the current employment status of participants by sector of Host Organisations. The complete evaluation can be found at: .

Just under half (45%) of all placements finish early – for a variety of reasons. Almost half (49%) of those who finish early say it is to take up employment and a further 7% go on to further education, training or another internship. About 30% leave for a variety of personal, domestic or health reasons. 14% leave early because they did not find the internship suitable, which is not surprising given that, for many, JobBridge is a first-chance opportunity and sometimes participants find that the particular career direction is not for them. The Department continues to work with them to support them with a range of alternative pathways to work. Appendix 3 provides an annual breakdown on a county basis of the number of participants who dropped out of the scheme before completion.

An annual breakdown of the total number of companies that were suspended from participation in the scheme for any period since its inception is attached in Appendix 4. The table also highlights the number of participants in those companies, broken down by employment sector. No companies were suspended in 2011 or 2016. The Jobbridge scheme is no longer open to new participants or host organisations as such. There are no companies currently disqualified or suspended from participation in the scheme.

All participants are entitled to a quality work experience and every reasonable effort is made by my Department to minimise the risk of exploitation of the scheme by Host Organisations. All complaints are taken seriously, fully investigated and appropriate action taken in cases of non-compliance.

In addition to responding to complaints, my Department operates a robust monitoring regime and has conducted over 13,000 on-site inspection visits. The evidence from these inspections is that the vast majority of host organisations are fully compliant with the terms and conditions of the scheme. In fact, of the more than 19,000 Host Organisations that have participated in JobBridge, a total of 86 (less than half of 1%) have been suspended from participating in the scheme for any period.

The level of misuse of the scheme is therefore much lower than is popularly thought and this position has been confirmed by the Indecon evaluation. The scheme is viewed positively by the majority of participants. For example 70% of participants reported a quality work experience.

The Deputy will be aware that I intend to replace JobBridge with a new work experience programme later this year that is better suited to the much-improved labour market and addresses criticisms of the scheme. JobBridge was closed to new applications from October 2016 to allow for a period of consultation with key stakeholders on design principles that I announced and to facilitate an orderly wind down of the existing scheme. These consultations are currently underway.

Appendix 1

Number of participants by county*

*Figures as of July 2016

Employment Progression Outcomes of Participants

Table 5.13: Progression Outcomes - If Intern Gained Paid Employment at any Stage since Internship by Length of Time since Internship Finishing (Percentage of Respondents)

Table 5.10: Progression Outcomes - Current Status of Intern by Sector of Host Organisation

(Percentage of Respondents)

Note: Figures may not add up to 100% due to the ability to select multiple responses

Appendix 3

Early-finishers by county and by year*

Appendix 4

Number of Companies Suspended and Participants per Sector