Third-level and retraining places for jobseekers

Information

If you are unemployed, you may want to continue your education or take part in a training course so as to develop your skills and improve your chances of getting back to work. There are several ways in which you can go back to education and either keep your social welfare payment or switch to Back to Education Allowance.

Several schemes have been aimed at providing third-level education for people who are unemployed.

• In 2011, a new initiative called Springboard offers 6,000 part-time higher education places. Its eligibility conditions were relaxed in September 2011 – see ‘Who is eligible’ below.
• In previous years: the Labour Market Activation Fund offered a total of 11,500 training and education places in 2010 and the Back to College Initiative for Jobseekers offered 2,500 part-time college places in 2009

Springboard - 2011

The Higher Education Springboard Programme was launched in May 2011. It provides 6,000 higher education places for unemployed people. The places are on a range of part-time courses from certificate to master's degree levels - Levels 6 to 9 on the National Framework of Qualifications.

The programme is aimed at people who have previously been employed in construction, manufacturing or other sectors of the economy where employment levels are unlikely to recover to pre-recession levels.

Details on the range of courses available and who is eligible are on bluebrick.ie.

Courses are offered in information and communications technology (ICT); the green economy; international financial services and qualifications for the bio-pharma-pharmachem and medical devices sectors. There are also some courses aimed at developing innovative business and entrepreneurship skills.

Most of the courses start in autumn 2011, but some started sooner.

Who is eligible?

In order to qualify for Springboard, you must:

• Be unemployed for a minimum of 6 months*

• Be getting Jobseeker's Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance or One-Parent Family Payment at the time of starting a Springboard course

*This 6-month rule was waived on 2 September 2011.

or

• Be signing for social insurance credits at the time of starting a Springboard course

and

• Have a previous history of employment

and

• Be actively seeking and available to take up employment

If you are on short-time working and getting a jobseeker’s payment, this counts as being unemployed for the purposes of Springboard.

Additional qualifying allowances

Before the requirement to be unemployed for 6 months was waived in September 2011, time that you spent on any of these other qualifying allowances was also taken into account when calculating your 6 months of unemployment:

• Disability Allowance
• Back to Education Allowance (BTEA)
• Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA)
• VTOS training allowance
• FÁS training allowance

So, for example, if you were getting a jobseeker’s payment for only one month on the start date of the course, but were getting one of these qualifying allowances for at least 5 months immediately before that, you were eligible to apply for a Springboard place – under the rules in force up to September 2011 – see ‘How to apply’ below.

Further information is available in a detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions.

Schemes in previous years

Labour Market Activation Fund for 2010

The Labour Market Activation Fund for 2010 provided a total of 11,500 training and education places for jobseekers ranging form Level 3 to Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications.

The places were mainly for people who are less skilled, who have worked in construction, retail and manufacturing, who are aged under 35 or who are long-term unemployed. The Fund is managed by the Department of Education and Skills, and the courses are run by a number of VECs, Institutes of Technology and other organisations who successfully tendered for funding.

To qualify for a place under the Labour Market Activation Fund for 2010, you must have been getting an unemployment payment for at least 3 months before starting the course. Time spent on training or education programmes counted towards this 3-month period. The course provider may also have minimum requirements.

While you are attending a training course under this scheme, you may qualify to keep your welfare payment for as long as you would normally be entitled to it.

If you attend a course of education you may qualify for a Back to Education Allowance.

Back to College Initiative for Jobseekers

This initiative offered 2,500 part-time third-level places to jobseekers for courses starting in September 2009.

The scheme is now closed to new entrants, but students already on the courses will be able to complete them.

The scheme was organised by the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation and the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

People who had been getting Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance for at least 6 months on 1 September 2009 were eligible for these courses. People who had received statutory redundancy and had an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment were also eligible.

Under the Part-time Option of the Back to Education Programme you are entitled to keep your jobseeker's payment while you are on the course. If you are getting Jobseeker's Benefit (JB) you will get it for the normal duration of your entitlement, either 9 or 12 months. When your JB finishes you should check if you are entitled to Jobseeker's Allowance.

If you took up a third-level place under this scheme you must continue to be available for and genuinely seeking work. If you get an offer of full-time work you must take up this employment offer. If you get a job before your course finishes you will not have to pay the course fees for that year.

The courses last from 1 to 4 years. As these are part-time courses you are not eligible for a third-level education maintenance grant or the Back to Education Allowance.

Rates

Participants on a Springboard course do not have to pay any course fees or charges while they are unemployed.

There is no charge for courses under the Labour Market Activation Fund.

There are no tuition fees for courses under the Back to College Initiative and you are not required to pay the registration fee. Postgraduate students may have to pay a nominal charge.

How to apply

To apply for Springboard, you choose the course(s) you are interested in on bluebrick.ie and select the ‘apply now’ option. You will be asked to complete form UP51b and get it stamped at your Social Welfare Local Office.

If you want time spent on a qualifying allowance to be counted as part of your 6 months’ period of unemployment*, you should complete theself-declaration form SB611. This form does not have to stamped by the Department of Social Protection or any other agency.

*As mentioned above, the 6-month requirement has now been waived.

Send the completed form UP51b (and form SB611 if relevant) to your Springboard course provider.