merrion street

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn and Social Protection Minister Joan Burton today unveiled the Government’s new awareness raising programme for skills initiatives aimed at getting people back to work.

“Skills to Work” brings together key Government initiatives introduced since 2011 to support jobseekers access the training and work experience they need and to help and encourage businesses employ people currently on the Live Register. The main aim of “Skills to Work” is to make it easier for both jobseekers and employers to easily access information on the full range of options available to them.

An online tool has been developed, www.skillstowork.ie, which, through a series of simple questions:

• Directs jobseekers to information on what education, re-skilling or work experience options are available to them in areas of new and emerging employment opportunities.
• Directs employers to information on incentives available to hire a new employee who is currently on the Live Register, offer a work placement or access skills training.
• Provides information on additional opportunities and government supports available to help people get back to work and to help businesses grow.

The Skills to Work campaign promotes in particular five initiatives run by the Department of Education and Skills and Department of Social Protection: Springboard, Momentum, Skillnets, JobBridge and JobsPlus. Some 77,200 jobseekers[1] have gained valuable training, skills or work experience on these five initiatives since 2011. In the same period, 30,314 employers have accessed training via Skillnets and 1,611 businesses have hired a total of 2,115 previously long-term unemployed jobseekers through the JobsPlus wage subsidy scheme.

Alongside the new on-line tool, the “Skills to Work” team will meet directly with jobseekers and employers, largely through attending job fairs and roadshows around the country. There will also be an on-line advertising campaign to drive interested jobseekers and employers to the new website.