Over 1,000 participants across Galway and Mayo supported by JobPath

More than 1,000 jobseekers in Galway and Mayo are participating in JobPath, according to new figures released by the Department of Social Protection last week.

The statistics were revealed by the Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, Kevin Humphreys in response to Galway Deputy Sean Kyne after he had raised the issue in the Dáil.

Launched last July, JobPath is a new employment activation programme which provides one-to-one support and assistance to long term unemployed people.

“JobPath is a very positive programme because it is designed to support people who have been out of work for over a year or more,” said Deputy Kyne.

“While unemployment is down in Galway by over 30% since the launch of the first Action Plan for Jobs in February 2012, driving unemployment down further requires more intense and focused measures,” he added.

The Junior Minister also revealed that since being rolled out in Galway, the scheme has also gone live in Achill, Ballina, Belmullet, Castlebar, Loughrea and Westport – news that was welcomed by Deputy Kyne

“The longer a person is out of the workplace the more difficult it becomes to secure a new job,” he said.

“With JobPath, participants are assigned a personal advisor who assesses their skills, experience and work goals to draw up an individual plan, with specific supports, such as training and education, to find employment.

“While the duration of the Programme is set at one year, personal advisors work with participants for up to a year after they have secured a new job.

“Seetec is the company administering JobPath in Galway. The Department is, however, conducting regular on-site inspections, as well as commissioning customer satisfaction surveys, to ensure that a high quality services is being provided to jobseekers in Galway,” he added.