Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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302. To ask the Minister for Social Protection his views on JobPath providers websites (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5507/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Each JobPath Provider’s website lists a service guarantee which will be offered to every participant, this covers a baseline level of service including frequency of engagement, personal progression planning, geographic accessibility and in-employment support.

On referral, each jobseeker is assigned a personal advisor who assesses the person’s skills, experience, challenges and work goals. A Personal Progression Plan is agreed which includes a schedule of activities, actions and job focused targets.Participants are provided with a range of internal training and development supports including online modules, career advice, CV preparation and interview skills, and work experience as required. They may also be referred to relevant, employment focused external training opportunities provided by ETBs and others while on JobPath. The JobPath service is provided for a year, but if a jobseeker is perusing a suitable training or educational course which is longer than 4 weeks, the referral period will be extended for up to 9 months to take account of the break in the service.

Up to 31December 2016, just over 87,000 jobseekers had been referred to the JobPath service and approximately 139,000 educational or training interventions had been provided, most of which were predominantly internal courses delivered by the Contractors (on interview skills, CV preparation etc.). Some 6,500 clients have undertaken programmes or courses delivered by providers external to the JobPath Contractors including the ETBs.

Providers are also subject to regular audits and inspections. My Department has commissioned regular client satisfaction surveys to ensure that services are being delivered satisfactorily. The first of these independent surveys was published in January 2017 with a representative sample of over 2,000 participants which shows that the majority of jobseekers feel that:

- They are receiving a good service under JobPath (76 – 81% satisfaction vs 5 – 8% dissatisfaction).

- JobPath staff make them feel valued (90 %+) and they have a good relationship with their JobPath advisor (90 %+).

- The JobPath service has improved their chances of getting a job (68% - 77%).

- The service is as good as or better than the service provided in Intreo centres (80 %+).

A separate analysis of employment outcomes for JobPath participants show that they have a higher chance of securing and remaining in a job than participants of a similar duration of unemployment. Given that only a small number of people have completed their full engagement with the JobPath service these results can only be treated as indicative, nevertheless they are encouraging. The results together with a copy of the survey findings together are available at .

If the Deputy has details of a particular case where training or education identified as necessary for employment has not been provided, he can provide the details and I will arrange for an official of my Department to investigate.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.