Private-sector firms in the Dublin area are organising work placements for long-term unemployed job-seekers as part of an initiative aimed at breaking down barriers that may hinder entry to the workforce.
People with disabilities, ex-offenders and people discriminated against on grounds of age and gender still experience difficulties getting jobs despite the economic growth of recent years, according to support groups.
The KWCD Exchange - Kimmage, Walkinstown, Crumlin and Drimnagh - is a network of employers and service organisations in an area of relatively high unemployment that seeks to benefit employers and long-term unemployed through providing job placements and training programmes.
The new project is the first employer-led initiative of its kind and is intended to work as a bridge between employers, job- seekers and support agencies, according to the organisers.
"We're not asking people to take on someone for the sake of it," said Carol French of the KWCD Employer Exchange.
"Employers involved have committed to looking at maybe modifying some of their positions available and supporting someone for a few months so they grow into a job specification. It is all about employers giving back to the community, but in a way that benefits them as well," she said.
Wayne Keogh (21), from Crumlin, who has cerebral palsy, had been seeking a job in the locality for several years without success. However, he has been working with Xtravision in recent months as a result of the partnership.
"I didn't know why I wasn't getting hired," said Wayne, referring to the rejection letters he kept receiving from supermarkets and retail stores. "I kept hearing there was no space. Or that they'd get back to me, but they never did. It was very frustrating. Looking back I think it was the disability that was the reasons.
As a result of the network's input, he has been working in Xtravision for three months and is enjoying the experience.
The organisers of the network hope employers will act as advocates to other employers in the promotion of the recruitment of long term unemployed people. While job seekers benefit through access to the workforce, employers also benefit through recruitment, along with training and specialised workshops, the network says.
The project is led by local employers such as Contract People Ltd, John Sisk and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children. The wider Kimmage and Crumlin area has higher than average unemployment rates and lower levels of educational achievement compared to the whole of Dublin.
Tom Davis of Contract People Ltd, one of the employers involved the project, said: "Every company can benefit from extra resources. Since partnering with the network, we have benefited form free professionals seminars on issues affecting every employer, such as staff retention and labour law."