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Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore today welcome the launch of two new Government campaigns, Supporting SMEs Online Tool and Skills to Work which will make it easier for jobseekers, SMEs, employers and entrepreneurs to find the information they need on the extensive range of Government supports available to them.

Since taking up office in 2011, the Government has introduced a range of initiatives and reforms to enhance the operating environment for enterprise, support job creation and improve the effectiveness of supports for jobseekers. These initiatives have included the rollout of new training programmes such as Springboard, the introduction of a suite of budget measures to support SMEs and stimulate

entrepreneurship and the development of a new incentive, JobsPlus, to encourage employers to hire people from the Live Register.

By promoting awareness and take-up of the range of supports available to business and jobseekers, the Supporting SMEs Online Tool and Skills to Work Campaign will play a key role in ensuring that these supports have maximum impact on job creation and tackling unemployment.

Welcoming today’s launches, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said:

Over 1,000 jobs a week are being created with unemployment continuing to fall. However, we know that there are still far too many people out of work. We need to make recovery local by building on the improvements we have made and do all that we can so that we see greater numbers of people at work in 2014 and beyond.

I’ve said that 2014 is the Year for Jobs. As part of this we want every jobseeker, employer, SME and entrepreneur to know the supports that are available to create jobs and take up employment. The Supporting SMEs Online Tool and Skills to Work Campaign are a key part of this – it is about providing the information to employers and jobseekers in a way that is easy, up to date and meets their needs.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore added:

Over the past three years, we have transformed how we support jobseekers. We are completely overhauling how we provide further education and training to better meet the needs of jobseekers and employers alike. We have implemented hundreds of measures, via the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work, to improve the operating environment for business and to support employment from the Live Register.

We are seeing the benefits and impacts of these initiatives and reforms, with increased numbers of people at work and a significant reduction in the unemployment rate. But we are not yet where we want to be. We need to continue working to support job creation and jobseekers, so that we bring about further increases in the number of people at work and ensure that everybody has the chance to benefit from recovery.

Read the full press release

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