The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD today announced 1,000 extra places for JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme.
Commenting on the successes of the scheme to-date, the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD and Mr Martin Murphy Managing Director of HP Ireland and Chair of the Steering Group on the National Internship Scheme said that JobBridge had exceeded their expectations since it went live on 1st July last year.
"Such has been the level of demand for the scheme, I am delighted to be announcing proposals to increase the number of places available in JobBridge and to widen the eligibility criteria," said Minister Burton. "The number of available places will be increased to 6,000 with immediate effect. The eligibility criteria will also be extended to include those in receipt of One Parent Family Payment and Disability Allowance. These changes will take effect from 28th May 2012."
The Minister added: "JobBridge was one of the pillars of the Government’s first Jobs Initiative and it set out to help those seeking employment to gain valuable experience while enhancing their prospects of securing employment. It is one element of the Department of Social Protection’'s wider activation programme and a good example of how we engage with Jobseekers.
"The scheme has made significant progress to date. In just ten months since the scheme was launched 6,840 internships have started. The initial target provided for a maximum of 5,000 places at any point in time. At 4th May 2012, 4,670 participants were on JobBridge placements and 1,876 posts were being advertised on the scheme's website."
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