LABOUR TD KENNY WELCOMES JOBBRIDGE EXPANSION

Posted on May 10, 2012 3:35 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin North East Labour TD Seán Kenny has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton T.D., that she has extended eligibility for the JobBridge programme, which provides an additional 1,000 places on the scheme.

"I am very pleased with Minister Burton's announcement which will bring the number of places available on the scheme from 5,000 to 6,000. Extending the eligibility to allow applications from people who receive One Parent Family Payments and those on Disability Allowance is a significant progression in the right direction towards equality and inclusion."

"I have spoken to the Minister about bringing people who are parenting alone and people who are on disability allowance into the JobBridge scheme on many occasions and I think it is very positive that this is now happening. More people will now be in a position to broaden their skills base, and I hope that the experience will lead to the securing long-term employment."

"JobBridge was initiated as a cornerstone of the Government's Jobs Initiative which we announced soon after coming into office. The figures recently released show that the first phase of JobBridge has been a huge success with over 40% of participants who completed the first phase of the programme moving seamlessly into full-time employment, with even more finding employment shortly after completion.""

"My experience is that the overwhelming majority of people want to work, make a contribution to their community and gain practical on-the-job experience regardless of their personal circumstances.

"Labour is the party of work and we have had a number of high profile job announcements recently, such as Mylan and Gerard Laboratories in Dublin North East. Investments like this happened because this government has managed to methodically restore investor confidence and Ireland's international reputation. The success of JobBridge shows that we have a young, educated and determined pool of talent who are committed to developing their careers too and take up quality opportunities backed by government, business and the voluntary and community sector."