Thursday 27 September 2007

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers and the members of the Kimmage, Walkinstown, Crumlin, and Drimnagh Employer Exchange for inviting me here today to launch their conference “Employers Leading the Way”.

The KWCD Employer Exchange is one of 43 development partnerships funded under the EQUAL Community Initiative Programme through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

I understand that the KWCD Employer Exchange seeks to address a gap between services for the unemployed on one hand and employers recruitment and selection processes on the other. One of aims of the KWCD Employer Exchange is to bring together employers from the Dublin 12 area and other ‘travel to work’ areas in Dublin West into a network for the exchange and development of good practice relating to recruitment of long-term unemployed.

Services for the unemployed have not traditionally had strong links with employers and, where they do, it is often ad hoc and does not focus on the employer’s needs. This particular EQUAL project is unique in that it looks at the many barriers that are preventing employers from recruiting from the local labour supply and involves employers in the process and in devising solutions. As a measure of this project’s success 48 people have found employment through the KWCD initiative.

This initiative also provides training workshops for employers and has

produced best practice guidelines for jobseekers in terms of preparing for interview and in terms of preparing Curriculum Vitae’s

The purpose of today’s conference is to disseminate the learning of the KWCD Development Partnership over the past 2 years. In particular, I see that this conference is launching 2 publications:

Employer Perceptions of the Long-Term Unemployed, and

The Right Approach – Recruitment and Selection

I would like to congratulate the project on this very useful work. Publications are but one legacy of the work of these projects, but they are an invaluable legacy that should be able to feed into future thinking and decision-making in these areas.

The Employer Perceptions of the Long-Term Unemployed publication includes research on current recruitment practice, employer perceptions of the long-term unemployed, company benefits and corporate social responsibility. It also sets out recommendations for the future, which include confirmation that there is a continuing need for innovative programmes to increase workplace access for marginalised job seekers, and that services working with the unemployed should work closely with the relevant sections of Government particularly the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

The Right Approach – Recruitment and Selection is a guide for employers on the ever-increasing complexities of recruitment in Ireland. What is different about this handbook is that it is prepared by employers for employers. It has a focus on diversity and inclusive recruitment practice with a special emphasis on long term unemployed. The handbook looks at all aspects of recruitment from job description to the final offer and also challenges the concept of the traditional format of the recruitment process by focussing on alternative methods. It allows employers to consider sourcing employees from different backgrounds and with different abilities. It also covers the various incentives and links in place to support such employment. This type of practical guide is an invaluable tool for employers and should encourage them to look beyond traditional methods so that more and different people can be considered for job vacancies.

Of course, the work of the KWCD Employer Exchange is part of much widerwork that is being carried out under the EQUAL Community Initiative Programme. Under this Programme a total of 43 Development Partnerships have received European Social Fund co-financing of approximately €34million over the Programme period 2000-2007. When match funding requirements are included this means that approximately €47million has been spent on projects that seek to identify and address fundamental forms of discrimination and inequality in the labour market through the development of new and innovative policies and practices initiated by EQUAL Development Partnerships.

The experimental approach of EQUAL provides the opportunity to test new ways of integrating marginalised groups into the workforce, of preparing them for the world of work, and of upskilling those already in employment. The programme has been concerned with finding innovative solutions to labour market problems, and looks, not necessarily at ‘what’ is being done, but also ‘how’ things are done.

Of course the EQUAL Programme is now drawing to a close and the challenge for those involved in taking things forward is to build on the lessons learnt and to mainstream the best practices developed by EQUAL Projects.

I would like to take this opportunity again to thank the KWCD for inviting me here today to launch their conference and to congratulate the project on its work. KWCD has built trust and cooperation between employers and job seekers, and provides such valuable assistance to both sets of people. Dissemination of the findings of the project’s work and the lessons learned are invaluable in the policy making process. Such work therefore not only feeds into public awareness but also to the key mainstream policy-makers, practitioners and decision-makers.

Thank you.

ENDS/LA250