Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection hosts Employer Roadshow in Dundalk

Monday, 2 September 2019

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is hosting a series of Employer Roadshows which are taking place. The first of these Roadshows have been held in Kilkenny, Cork and Dublin with the most recent taking place in the Ballymascanlon Hotel in Dundalk, County Louth.

The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, T.D. visited the Roadshow in the Ballymascanlon Hotel this evening where she met with local employers and representatives from local businesses in Dundalk and surrounding areas in County Louth.

The aim of the Employer Roadshows is to promote supports and incentives available to employers from the Department and to encourage employers to avail of schemes and incentives and, in particular those that will assist jobseekers who are in need of support to enter the labour market. This approach supports Future Jobs Ireland, launched earlier this year by the Taoiseach, which outlined the longer-term ambitions for the future of our economy.

Employers and business are essential to our economy and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection recognises and supports their role. The Employer Roadshow events will strengthen and grow links with local employers who will be given information on schemes such as JobsPlus, the Wage Subsidy Scheme, the Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS) and the recruitment services and other supports available from the Department’s Intreo service and JobsIreland.ie

Speaking at the Roadshow in Dundalk, Minister Doherty pointed to the value in Government engagement with local businesses and employers to ensure Government responses define and refine appropriate responses to business needs: This evening’s event in Dundalk was aimed to ensure that the approach of activation, as set out in the Department’s Pathways to Work strategy, will continue to address the needs of employers in Dundalk and surrounding areas while also providing opportunities for work for other people who, although not classified as unemployed jobseekers, have the potential and the desire to play a more active role in the labour force.

Minister Doherty also spoke about the need for industry placements as a means of gaining new, relevant work experience:

“I am delighted that so many local employers are engaging with these events as their involvement is so valuable to our work in giving people a chance to return to the workforce. Work experience is a crucial aid to helping people into the workforce - whether they are young people, undertaking traineeships or apprenticeships or returning to the workforce after an absence. Industry placement is a critical part of gaining access to the labour market and giving jobseekers a chance to gain vital hands-on workplace experience.”