Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

382. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will be reviewing JobPath now that referrals have ended. [60950/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In 2018 Indecon, on behalf of the Department, undertook two detailed reviews into the Local Employment Service (LES) and Job Clubs.  These reviews made a series of recommendations on the design and operation of contracted public employment services. In 2019 my Department commissioned an independent review of the provision of employment advisory services, including JobPath, Local Employment Services and Job Clubs.  This review conducted by the Institute of Employment Studies and Social Finance, reviewed the provision of services and made recommendations for the future restructuring and procurement of services.  The consultants commissioned by the Department consulted independently with a sample of existing providers that they had selected.  

All external providers of employment advisory services are subject to regular audits and inspections.  In addition, and specific to the provision of JobPath services, my Department commissions regular independent Customer Satisfaction Surveys to ensure that services are being delivered satisfactorily from the viewpoint of the customer.  All of the evidence indicates that the experience of the majority of customers who have engaged with the JobPath service to date has been quite positive. 

The Department have published the results of a number of these independent Customer Satisfaction Survey that have been commissioned since 2016.  These surveys are available on the Department’s website on Gov.ie.  These surveys provide a qualitative evaluation of the standard of service provided by the JobPath contractors.  The most recent published survey is that which was carried out in Dec 2021 and the results of this are published on my Department's website.

In addition to the independently commissioned Customer Satisfaction Survey, the 2019 econometric review of JobPath undertaken by my Department in partnership with the OECD noted that the weekly employment earnings of people who secured employment with the JobPath service are 17% higher than the weekly employment earnings of people who secured employment without the support of JobPath in 2018.  Taken with the 26% improvement in employment outcomes in the same period, it means the overall positive employment/earnings impact is 37% in 2018 for those supported by the JobPath service.  These findings indicate that jobseekers who engage with JobPath are significantly more likely to get a positive employment outcome than those not supported by the service.  The evidence to date, published by the Department indicates that employment outcomes among people on JobPath are higher than non-participants.