Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1423. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the full extent and scale of the services provided to her Department by Seetec Ireland; if she has received complaints regarding the manner in which the public are dealt with; if action is warranted or has been taken arising therefrom; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15409/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Seetec is one of two companies contracted to provide the JobPath service on behalf of my Department. Seetec deliver the service in the northern half of the State

As the Deputy will be aware JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed to secure and sustain full-time paid employment.

Participants on JobPath receive intensive individual support to help overcome barriers to employment and to find jobs. Each person is assigned a personal advisor who assesses their skills, experience, challenges and work goals and agrees a personal progression plan that includes a schedule of activities, including relevant training and educational programmes to assist them in finding full-time sustainable employment.

The JobPath providers arrange for the delivery of a broad range of education and training courses with a particular and strong focus on upskilling the long term unemployed. Some of these courses are provided in-house while others are provided by specialist training providers including the Education and Training Boards (ETBs).

The overall reaction to JobPath has been very positive. The Department recently published the results of the 2017 Customer Satisfaction Survey. While the results of the 2016 survey revealed high levels of customer satisfaction, the 2017 survey has shown an improvement across all aspects of the service.

Overall satisfaction has improved from mean score of 4.05 (2016) to 4.26 (2017), on a five point scale where the top score possible is 5.0. Scores are very strong across all assessment areas (Offices, Staff, Services and Processes) and JobPath clients are most satisfied with the staff and offices.

The strongest improvements are noted in the performance of JobPath providers in delivering a good understanding of the service being offered, timely organisation of the first meeting and personal advisor aid to develop a Personal Progression Plan. Just over 80 % of clients agree that the JobPath service has helped improve their prospects in getting a job.

The results of the Independent Customer Satisfaction Survey are available on the Department’s website at – .

In regard to complaints, as at end of March 2018 , 155,878 Jobseekers have engaged with the service, with only 567 complaints received in total – 0.36 per cent. 377 of these were related to Customer Service, 118 involved policy issues, 54 related to clients not wishing to engage, 11 Data Protection queries and 7 related to Legislation.

Of these, 526 have been responded to and are now closed, 41 are in progress.

My Department logs and records all complaints received in respect of the JobPath service. Strict timeframes apply to the issuing of acknowledgements and responses and these are constantly monitored to ensure adherence.

The contract requires the JobPath provider to respond to all complaints in the first instance. Each JobPath provider has a comprehensive Complaints Procedure which is advertised in every location. The procedure contains levels of escalation whereby complaints are dealt with at the appropriate level of authority and ensuring that matters are fully addressed. In the event a customer has availed of this procedure but remains dissatisfied with the response to their complaint, they may request my department to carry out a review. Customers may also refer a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman for review once they have exhausted the available complaints process.

To date six customers have requested my department to review their complaint and all have been finalised.