JobBridge - National Internship Scheme

Introduction

JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme provides work experience opportunities for unemployed people. It is aimed at people who have been either getting a jobseeker’s payment or signing for credits for at least 3 months. Participants in the scheme will be offered an internship of between 6 and 9 months with a host organisation. If they take up an internship they will keep their social welfare payment and will get an extra €50 per week.

Participants

How do I qualify for the scheme?

To be eligible for the JobBridge you must be unemployed and:

• Getting Jobseeker’s Benefit (JB), Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA), Disability Allowance, One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) or signing on for credits. You must be getting JB, JA, DA, OFP or signing on for credits

And

• You must be getting JB, JA, DA, OFP or signing on for credits for a total of 3 months* or more in the last 6 months

*Since 26 September 2011 periods spent on the Back to Education Allowance, VTOS, FÁS/Fáilte Ireland training courses, Youthreach, FIT, Community Employment Schemes, TUS, the Rural Social Scheme, Back to Work Scheme, Job Initiative or Job Assist may count towards meeting the eligibility of JobBridge, provided:

• You have completed these programmes
• You have signed back onto the Live Register
• You are getting JA, JB, DA OFP or signing for credits immediately before starting on JobBridge

You cannot start the internship until your eligibility for JobBridge is confirmed by the Department of Social Protection – see ‘How to apply’ below.

Internships may be offered in a wide range of employment sectors and occupations in public, private and community and voluntary organisations.

How long does the internship last?

Under the National Internship Scheme you can work as an intern in a host organisation from 6 months up to a maximum of 9 months. You will work at least 30 and no more than 40 hours a week.

You can read more details in this list of frequently asked questions for interns (pdf).

Am I entitled to leave while working as an intern?

You are entitled to public holidays and 1.75 days of annual leave per month during the internship. If you are absent from work due to illness, provided you meet the requirements of your company's sick leave policy, you will continue to get your social welfare payment.

Can I do additional part-time work outside my JobBridge hours work part time?

While you are participating in JobBridge, you may do additional part-time work provided your work does not affect your internship and your employer is not your host organisation. If you get a part-time job you must continue to meet the conditions for your payment and you should inform your local social welfare office as your income from work may affect your social welfare payment.

Host organisations

Organisations participating in the scheme are known as host organisations. They can be from the public or private sectors or from the community and voluntary sector. The host organisation (HO) must have at least one full-time employee working 30 hours a week or more. The internship must not displace an existing employee and the HO must have no vacancies in the area of activity where the internship is offered.

A host organisation must be a legal entity and must be compliant with health and safety and other legal requirements. Since 15 August 2011 sole traders are eligible to be host organisations (pdf).

If Garda vetting is required the HO must ensure that this is carried out. The HO’s public liability insurance, and motor insurance if applicable, will cover any internships on the scheme.

Number of internships in a host organisation

The number of internships that a host organisation can offer depends on their number of full-time employees, as follows:

*Local branch offices of national organisations will be regarded as individual organisations for the purpose of the National Internship Scheme.

If a HO has WPP placements as well, there are limits on the combined number of interns and WPP participants. You can read more details in this list of frequently asked questions for host organisations (pdf).

Employer Job (PRSI) Exemption Scheme: Since 1 January 2012, host organisations who employ interns can avail of the Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme which exempts employers from liability to pay their share of PRSI for certain employees. They can employ an eligible person directly from JobBridge once the required 156 days criteria has been satisfied.

Rates

You will keep your social welfare payment and you will get an internship allowance of €50 per week. You will also keep any secondary benefits that you have when you take up an internship. No top-up payments from the host organisation are permitted, but interns may be reimbursed for expenses incurred during the internship.

If you have dependent children you will be paid the full Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC) if you qualify for an Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) or if you are parenting alone. If you do not qualify for an IQA, you may receive a half-rate IQC.

Social welfare payment: When you are an intern, the time you are getting an internship allowance is disregarded when calculating how long you continue to be entitled to your jobseeker’s payment. This means that, when you finish the internship, you can resume your social welfare claim from the point at which you left. For example, if you were getting Jobseeker's Benefit and you had 90 days left on your claim when you started an internship, you will still have 90 days of entitlement left if you resume your claim when you have completed the internship.

How to apply

The JobBridge scheme started on 1 July 2011. Internships are advertised on jobbridge.ie, Jobs Ireland website and local employment services offices.

If you are eligible for the scheme you can check the current internship opportunities on jobbridge.ie. When you have identified an internship, you apply to the host organisation as specified in the advertisement. If the host organisation selects you it will give you an eligibility form UP51C to be stamped by your Social Welfare Local Office.

If you are getting Disability Allowance you must download and complete form DIR PMT 1 (pdf) and send it with the eligibility form UP51C to Social Welfare Services, Department of Social Protection, Ballinalee Road, Longford.

Once your eligibility is confirmed, the Social Welfare office returns your completed form to JobBridge for processing.

Organisations that are interested in offering an internship should register with Jobs Ireland as a host organisation. If they are already registered as a host organisation they can advertise their internship on jobbridge.ie.

There is detailed information about the scheme in, General Guidelines for JobBridge the National Internship Scheme (NIS) (pdf).