PES Employer Supports in Ireland: Empowering Jobseekers and People with Disabilities
PES Ireland offers a range of initiatives to incentivize employers to recruit jobseekers and people with disabilities, including work placement schemes and financial supports. The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) provides quality work experience to enhance participants' employability, with successful outcomes leading to employment opportunities. The program has seen positive results in terms of participant profiles and successful transitions to the workforce.
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PES Employer Supports Ireland UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AS A TOOL FOR EMPLOYMENT AND UPSKILLING Barcelona October 2023
PES Ireland provides a range of income and employment-related initiatives for employers to incentivise recruitment of Jobseekers and People with Disabilities including as follows: Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) : a funded work placement scheme Employment Employment Support for Support for Employers Employers JobsPlus Scheme : designed to provide long term unemployed with opportunities to engage in employment Reasonable Accommodation Fund (RAF) for People with Disabilities : financial supports for workplace accessibility & in-work supports Work Subsidy Scheme (WSS) : financial incentives to employers to employ People with Disabilities Employer Supports for Jobseekers and People with Disabilities are key policy initiatives under the Irish Government's national employment services strategy called Pathways to Work 2021-2025.
Work Placement Experience Programme : WPEP The WPEP is a funded work placement scheme that provides work experience for jobseekers who have been unemployed for more than six months at no cost to employers The objective is to keep jobseekers close to the labour market, provide them with quality work experience to increase their employability and increase the likelihood of return to full employment The WPEP employer is required to offer a meaningful, good quality work placement opportunity that provides access to accredited training with on-site supervision and mentoring for the participant The WPEP was launched in July 2021 o to September 23 some 828 approved participants o a flat payment rate of 323 per week ( increases available for dependants ) and o involves a six month placement
WPEP Participant profiles and outcomes Profile 53% female/48% male 5% Ukrainian 10% in receipt of a disability payment 10 from Traveller/Roma community Outcomes Completed placements 42% WPEP completed moved to employment or self employment 73% of whom with WPEP Employer 25% WPEP participants with a disability moved to employment Finished early 31% found employment 27% of whom with WPEP Employer Age 23% 25-29 years 21% under 25 years 57% over 30 years 4
JobsPlus The JobsPlus programme is a funding incentive to assist employers who offer eligible jobseekers and other disadvantaged persons permanent employment opportunities. It is designed to encourage employers to focus their recruitment efforts on those who have been out of work for long periods and on young people seeking employment. It provides a direct monthly financial incentive to employers over two years, with two levels of grant payable 7,500 or 10,000 provided the employment is maintained. The level of payment depends on the age of the jobseeker and their circumstances. Employer must offer at least 30 hours employment per week, over a minimum of four days to employees who must be on the organisation payroll. In the year to September 23, some 1,224 people have participated in the scheme with some 51% JobsPlus employees are in payment for the 7,500 grant and 49% JobsPlus employees are in payment for the 10,000 grant
Participant profiles and Outcomes Profile 68% male/32% female Outcomes 94.8% who completed 24 months on Jobsplus remained in employment after 30-36 months 87% of those who participated on the scheme remain in employment after 30-36 months Early scheme exiters Of those who leave early for employment with another employer 80% remain in employment Age 28% under 30 years 53% over 30/under 50 years 19% over 50 years 6
Other Employer Supports for People with Disabilities Reasonable Accommodation Fund (RAF) provides financial support to employers, jobseekers and employees with disabilities to make the workplace more accessible Grants Supports include : Workplace Equipment Adaptation Grant (WEAG) Employee Retention Grant (ERG) Job Interview Interpreter Grant (JIIG) Personal Reader Grant (PRG Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS) Financial incentives to employers to employ people with a disability Employees have same conditions of employment as other employees
Challenges & Benefits of WPEP and JobsPlus Benefits: Participating employers see the benefit of programmes as effective recruitment tools, they can train potential staff in their sector specific skills and the programmes are a cost effective way to fill their skills gaps Participants Participants have been given the opportunity to gain valuable work experience, can develop skills through in work training and education and secure sustainable employment Challenges: Economy at full employment, take up of the schemes lower than anticipated Need to promote and increase awareness of the programmes more broadly to employers who remain unaware of the benefits of accessing these programmes
