THE DEPARTMENT of Social Protection removed postings for interns on the website for JobBridge last week because they failed to meet the required standard.
State training and employment agency Fás, which is operating the scheme, confirmed yesterday that some offers were removed. JobBridge is the Government’s flagship project to create 5,000 intern places over the next five years.
Fás which is changing its name to Solas said the department was continuously monitoring the internships which are submitted to the site. “Having reviewed a number of postings on the JobBridge website in the first days of the scheme, a number were clearly not in accordance with the intent of the scheme and were removed,” a statement noted.
The scheme has been the subject of criticism from jobseekers concerning the quality of internships on offer. It has also been criticised because of strict rules preventing those seeking work who participated in back-to-work courses recently from applying. The rules on participation have subsequently been relaxed.
An online blog, “jobsbridge to nowhere”, has been set up in recent days to identify companies that list jobs under JobBridge for which the website claims they should be paying people.
The site claims that the scheme sounds like a good idea on paper but without oversight or moderation it’s quickly turned into a free-for-all for any company that wants free labour. Among the jobs identified by the site are positions for a dog groomer, an assistant baker and a furniture removal assistant.
Figures supplied by Fás show that 1,848 internships are advertised nationwide at present. The numbers range from almost 800 in Dublin to just 12 in Co Leitrim.
So far more than 1,400 offers have been made and 941 interns have started. The scheme offers an internship of nine months with firms to qualifying jobseekers. The positions offered range from manual work requiring no qualifications, to specialised placements where third-level qualifications or professional training are needed.
Companies do not pay interns but must provide a mentor who will advise and supervise the work experience and training. Those who participate in the scheme are entitled to a weekly payment of €50 in addition to their social welfare payments.
For its part, Fás has said that a variety of measures have been put in place to protect the intern and safeguard JobBridge from potential abuse. A rule exists that the intern cannot work unsupervised, that the internship is not displacing an employee and that the intern “accrues significant experiences” during the nine months.
Employer and intern are required to sign an agreement at the start of the relationship and each must complete online compliance forms monthly.
Fás said it has assigned enough staff to monitor ongoing compliance by companies and interns using a “desk monitoring approach” and also a facility to allow whistleblowers contact the agency.
“In addition a ‘whistleblowing’ feature has been introduced, where any individual who suspects that an internship may be in breach of the scheme’s criteria may contact the National Call Centre. All such claims will be investigated,” the statement noted.
Fianna Fáil’s spokesman on social protection Barry Cowen said take-up of the scheme seemed low but it may take another month, by which time third-level institutions will have returned, before a full assessment could be made.
He said recent publicity about the quality of internships had led to concerns that the “public’s perception of it is not what was hoped for”.