Shameless attempts to abuse JobBridge must be tackled by Fas
Issued : Sunday 18 September, 2011
Statement by Gerald Nash TD
FÁS must up its game and commit to a more vigorous and stringent policing of the JobBridge scheme in order to tackle shameless attempts by some major firms to flagrantly abuse the national internship scheme, Labour TD Gerald Nash has said.
The Louth Deputy said, "A significant improvement in the screening of applicant employers for the JobBridge internship scheme which was launched by the government in July is a must if the Minister's for Social Protection's excellent scheme is to reap the social and economic rewards originally envisaged for the programme.
"JobBridge was set up to give graduates and those coming off training schemes an opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills in the workforce with the potential to lead to full-time employment.
"When done well and in the full spirit of the scheme, JobBridge represents a fantastic opportunity for both the employer and the intern. An internship is meant to be a structured learning programme for the participant, not a source of free labour for the employer, especially when it comes to those who post stratospheric pre-tax profits on an annual basis."
"There is substantial evidence in the public domain showing that some unscrupulous employers especially in the retail and hotel and catering trades are attempting to flagrantly abuse the scheme. The stacking of shelves and the carrying out of basic cleaning duties does not an internship make.
"It is puzzling in the extreme as to how some of these positions managed to make it through the screening process in the first place and find their way on to the JobBridge site for a period. This lax practice should be discontinued immediately.
"No matter what weak defence is put forward, these posts aim to displace real jobs. It is sickening to see massive retail organisations, some of whom are generating profits in the hundreds of millions and operating at much higher margins in Ireland than in other European countries conniving to deliberately exploit a taxpayer funded initiative designed to help those who are anxious to get into the world of work and to map out a future for themselves."
