Updated 8.50am
A NUMBER OF changes are to take place with the internship scheme JobBridge, including a cooling off period being waived and an extension of the duration time for internships if you undertake three of them.
The changes were announced by Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton yesterday, who said that a number of key recommendations from the Indecon report will be implemented.
These recommendations include the waiving of the “cooling off” period for host organisations where the intern goes directly into employment.
The Department’s quality and control checks have also been improved, with a significant increase in monitoring and site visits being conducted.
Codes of practice and guidelines have been introduced for placements in key sectors such as childcare and health.
Interns will be able to avail of three internships, up from two. The maximum duration of internships in this case will be extended from nine months to 18 months, which the Department says will provide “further opportunities for jobseekers”.
Eligibility criteria are also being simplified, making them more visible in advance to all applicants.
Plus, two pilot initiatives for non-graduate internships have been launched in the past six months.
One is a collaboration with the Crafts Council of Ireland and involves internship experience in the craft sector. The second is JobBridge and the Arts, a collaboration with Local Authorities and various small or short-duration festivals and arts projects.
Internships
Minister Burton said that the number of internships taken up under JobBridge has now passed 20,000.
She made the comments while speaking at the headquarters of the Football Association of Ireland in Dublin yesterday – five former JobBridge interns at the FAI now work there full-time. Eight people are currently on JobBridge placements there.
JobBridge is averaging 800 internships every month since it launched just over two years ago, and its aim is to get to 950 internships a month.
JobBridge and FAI are now collaborating on Project FUTSAL, which is aimed at providing employment and educational opportunities for young people in disadvantaged areas.
Three in five participants in JobBridge secure employment within five months of completing their internships.
However, the scheme has attracted criticism over the type of internships offered on the site.
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