Ireland
Strategies for youth employment
- Strategies for youth employment
- Yes
Youth employment strategy planned in the next 2 years
- Discussions within the government
- No
- Consultations with national-level stakeholders (e.g. employers’ and workers’ associations, youth councils, etc.)
- No
- A draft strategy already exists
- No
- Other (please specify)
- No
Countries with national action plans for youth employment
- Monitoring framework (timeline and activity/outcome indicators, e.g. youth labour market indicators)
- Yes
- Funding (indicative budget to implement the plan)
- Yes
- Institutional responsibilities (e.g. ministries/agencies in charge of specific planned activities )
- Yes
- Other, specify
- Yes
Public funding for the national youth employment strategy
- Public funding for the national youth employment strategy
- Yes
Additional information:
Through the Irish Government Budgetary process, funding has been received by the Department of Social Protection to deliver the Pathways to Work, 2021-2025 strategy. However, due to the cross-Government nature of the strategy and its commitments, the Department of Social Protection does not fund all measures it sets out (e.g. others are funded and delivered by relevant Government Departments, such as the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science).Youth in the national development / employment strategy
- Youth in the national development / employment strategy
- Yes
Additional information:
Youth is included as a target group in the Government's national employment services strategy: "Pathways to Work 2021-2025".Countries with national goals for youth employment
- Countries with national goals for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
Pathways to Work 2021-2025 includes a series of measures to improve employment outcomes for young people (aged under 30). The Intreo Employment Service delivers these measures by: • Providing an intensive model of engagement with young people profiled as being at risk of long-term unemployment. The frequency of engagement with a case officer has increased from once a month to once a fortnight, to provide enhanced support to this priority cohort. • Providing early access to the JobsPlus recruitment subsidy for employers who a hire young jobseeker under the age of 30, including those from minority groups. • Delivering the Early Engagement Initiative for young people in receipt of a disability payment - ensuring those who wish to work or access education and training, get the necessary support to do so. This process is entirely voluntary and is being implemented in line with principles agreed with stakeholders. • Ring-fencing additional places on State Employment Programmes (Community Employment and Tús) for long term unemployed young people. • Delivering activities under the Youth Employment and Engagement Charter, with a target of signing up 300 employers by December 2025. • Delivering tailored job promotion and local recruitment events for young jobseekers where reskilling and upskilling and apprenticeship options are outlined, and referrals made to the Education and Training Boards. • Providing advice and support on employment, training and personal development opportunities, on a voluntary basis, to lone parents who wish to take up work. • Targeting that at least 40% of Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) places, per annum until end 2025, are taken up by young people. The WPEP provides direct industry experience and includes a learning and development plan. Since its commencement in July 2021, some 1,103 WPEP participants had commenced their programme (by end June 2024). Approximately 46 per cent of these were young jobseekers (under 30 years). • On foot of a review, the WPEP is now open to young people unemployed for 4 months, bringing the eligibility criteria in line with Ireland’s commitments under the Youth Guarantee. Further, the Programme is being expanded to provide a gateway to formal apprenticeship opportunities for priority groups. The aim of this measure is to give employers the opportunity to test the suitability of a young person for an apprenticeship role. It is anticipated this will be most beneficial for the construction sector.Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
- Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
"Pathways to Work 2021-2025": Reduce the Youth Unemployment RatePolicy areas in national youth employment strategies
- Macroeconomic and Sectoral policies
- Yes
- Enterprise Development
- Yes
- Education, Training and skills development
- Yes
- Labour Demand
- Yes
- Labour Law and Legislation
- Yes
- Labour Market Policies
- Yes
- Other (please specify)
- Yes
Social partners' inclusion in the youth employment strategy
- Workers
- Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
- Consulted
- Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
- Consulted
- Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
- Consulted
- Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
- Consulted
- Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Employers
- Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
- Consulted
- Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Youth-led organizatios' inclusion in the national strategy
- Fully involved
- No
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Yes
- Consulted
- No
- Informed
- No
- Not involved
- No
Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
- Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
2025: The Employment and Youth Engagement Charter, which was launched in May of 2024, was informed by consultation with various stakeholders including the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC), the Labour Market Advisory Council Employer Sub-Group (comprising industry leaders, business representative groups and Government officials), the National Youth Council of Ireland and the Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed. Please see 1.1 for further reference. Also please see 1.2 and 2.1 in reference to the Labour Market Advisory Council. -- 2023: Ireland has established a Labour Market Advisory Council, appointed by the Minister for Social Protection. The Council is an independent group, with a role of providing advice to Government. The membership of the group includes labour market leaders, industry leaders and worker and employer representative organisations.Inclusiveness of vulnerable groups in national strategies
- Women
- Yes
- Migrant Workers
- Yes
- NEETs
- Yes
- People with disabilities
- Yes
- Low skilled workers
- Yes
- Rural workers
- Yes
- Other (please specify)
- Yes
Youth employment strategies and international cooperation
- Youth employment strategies and international cooperation
- Yes
Additional information:
2025: The Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training Programme (2021 – 2027) is the current ESF+ programme in Ireland. Under the programme a number of priorities are set out regarding employment (with a particular focus on young jobseekers and the long-term unemployed), inclusion, education, deprivation and social innovation. The Programme involves a total investment of over €1.08 billion; €508 million from the EU and €573 million from the Government of Ireland. Benchelarning exercises are facilitated by the EU PES Network to promote knowledge sharing of best practice across EU Member States. In addition, the OECD and Eurofound regularly present on latest labour market trends and research, including on youth employment measures, to Working Groups of the European Commission, which are attended by officials from the Department of Social Protection.___ 2023: The Department of Social Protection is seeking funding through the EU’s Resilience and Recovery Facility, which will support reforms and investments in Member States as we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis. Priority 3 of Ireland’s national Recovery and Resilience Plan is ‘Social and Economic Recovery and Job Creation’. Pathways to Work will be a key driver of progress under this ambition, with the new Work Placement Experience Programme being a key element of this activity. EU funding will be used to support the rollout of this scheme, including in reaching our target of 10,000 participants by end-2022. Ireland's National Recovery and Resilience Plan: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/d4939-national-recovery-and-resilience-plan-2021/