Budget 2012
The first part of a two part budget was announced yesterday (5th December) and amongst the cuts proposed to health, education and some elements of social welafare, Brendan Howlin did announce some good news for the unemployed. A new Labour Market Activation (LMA) fund of €20m is to be put into place in 2012 to help re-train and up-skill the unemployed (with a firm focus on the long term unemployed).
Building on the success of previous LMA initiatives, of which the Innovo run Enterprise Evolution Programme (EEP) is one, this funding allocation should be welcomed.
An independent evaluation of the 2010 LMA fund can be found here. The Innovo run EEP programme is commended specifically in Section 3.3.6 on page 22 is of particular interest where the EEP was praised (vs the other courses) for is innovative and tailored approach to addressing a specific Labour market need. It criticizes other providers for not being innovative in terms of course development and delivery and recommends that any new interventions need to be innovative and responsive in addressing specific labour market needs.
Any labour market interventions funded under this new round should be specifically tailored and targeted to those who really need it and to sectors that are growing and developing in our economy. We're currently faced with mass unemployment with a high proportion of our highly educated graduates and industry professionals leaving the country. We're also left with a hangover from the property boom where people in construction related sectors find themselves as long term unemployed.
The training and education industry now needs to step up to the mark and be creative and innovative in the design of meaningful interventions that support these particular areas.