THE Government sometimes constructs "barriers and hurdles" which keep unemployed people out of training and education programmes and on the dole, a consultant to EU job creation and training programmes has told a Dublin conference.
Ms Grainne Healy said among these barriers were "huge problems with information dissemination" and "the absence of accessible, affordable childcare".
She was addressing a weekend conference on the experience of four EU funded projects on Dublin's north side: the Northside Partnership's women in enterprise and new technology programme; integrating lone parents into the area's economic and social life; a Youthstart programme for 15 to 20 year olds who have left school early; and a service to small "micro business" entrepreneurs.
Ms Healy said all these projects had worked hard to disseminate information about what they offered to counteract the serious lack of information among unemployed people about their rights which was "in itself a barrier to employment".
She said each project had faced the "mindboggling experience" of trying to make sense of the Irish accreditation system for education and training qualifications. They then had to try to convince "the awarding bodies of such systems that the education and training programmes being developed in the community are worthy of accreditation and require meaningful progressive certification".
She said there was a great need for accrediting agencies like Teastas, the NCVA and the NCEA to construct, together with voluntary, community and adult education groups, meaningful accreditation routes for early school leavers and women returning to "second chance" education.
Another major disincentive to employment or self employment was the fear of many social welfare recipients of losing benefits. Parents of young people fear they might lose their child benefit if he or she goes into part time training. An unemployed man starting a new microbusiness fears that claiming the area based allowance may mean losing his medical card.