To ask the Minister for Employment and Learning what consideration has he given to his Department collaborating with the European Social Fund, United Youth Programme and Steps 2 Success providers to ensure that individuals can complete their training with, or participation on, other projects before they are ready to progress onto Steps 2 Success.

Steps 2 Success (S2S) is my Department’s main employment programme, and is part of a wider package of support, which my Department’s Employment Service Advisers can offer to unemployed clients.

Employment Service Advisers offer advice, guidance and assistance to help unemployed clients find work at the earliest opportunity. This support includes a range of other programmes designed to move unemployed clients into work. These programmes include the European Social Fund Programme and the United Youth Programme.

European Social Fund Programme

European Social Fund (ESF) Programme aims to support participants with pre-employment training to enhance jobsearch skills, improve confidence and acquire the necessary skills to access sustainable employment. Support can include providing vocational training for employability up to Level 1. All applications submitted to the European Social Fund had to demonstrate how they would not duplicate local provision in other geographical areas and how they would complement existing Departmental and other Government programmes.

United Youth Programme

My Department is currently leading, on behalf of the Executive, on the development of the United Youth Programme. This is a good relations programme that will provide flexible, high quality, young-person-centred opportunities for 16-24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training.

The programme is a key commitment in the ‘Together: Building a United Community’ Strategy. A total of 13 pilots, with approximately 360 places, are being delivered across Northern Ireland in 2015/2016. These pilots will test a range of approaches which will inform the service design framework for the United Youth Programme.

As the target group of young people for the United Youth Pilots are those Not in Education Employment or Training (NEET), a sizeable proportion of young people targeted will be on Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA).

Steps 2 Success

JSA claimants will, at certain points in their benefit claim, be required to participate on S2S. Those aged 18 to 24 years old will be required to participate when they have been claiming JSA for 9 months. Those aged 25 years old and over will be required to participate when they have been claiming JSA for 12 months.

Clients referred to S2S must attend and participate on the programme in order to maintain entitlement to benefit.

Where a JSA claimant is participating on another programme when they reach their S2S eligibility date, my Department’s Employment Service Advisers can defer the S2S referral for up to 90 days. This deferral period should allow the client time to complete training or participation on the programme they have started and move into employment where possible. If the client does not move into employment on completion of another programme, they will be referred to S2S.

My Department’s Employment Service works closely with the ESF Managing Authority and Youth Policy and Strategy Divisions to ensure the integration of Departmental provision meets the needs of unemployed clients.

This collaboration between Divisions within my Department ensures that Employment Service Advisers can refer unemployed clients to the most appropriate provision or programme to meet their job goals and overcome individual barriers to employment.