Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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886. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the opportunities available under the jobpath scheme and or other Departmental schemes for persons to retrain in green trades, such as retrofitting of homes and exterior insulation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63392/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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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). In addition, JobPath participants may also apply for the Back to Education Allowance Scheme in order to pursue second and third level courses.

Clients of JobPath and other public employment services have access to all state training and education programmes, such as Skillnet. This includes those directed towards green trades, such as retrofitting of homes and exterior insulation. Where these align with the client’s own career aspirations, they are supported in pursuing such opportunities.  

The JobPath providers may provide financial assistance with job-related training in relation to all trades including green trades. This is discussed on a case-by-case basis. All requests are reviewed by the office Performance Manager and take into account the duration, cost and relevance to the customer’s job goal preferences.

Clients on JobPath are currently being supported into employment in roles in these green trades. As training routeways and job opportunities in these sectors ramp up in the coming years, we expect them to be attractive options for clients of all public employment services.