Jobcare

Jobcare

Lady using computer and phone at Jobcare

Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Jobcare
Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Jobcare

Lady using computer and phone at Jobcare

Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Enlarge image

28A Pearse Street, Dublin 2

Jobcare seeks to address the impact of long-term unemployment on individuals who are unlikely to positively change their circumstances without support and interventions due to the barriers they face and the disadvantaged nature of their situations. Jobcare was founded in 1994 by Paul Mooney as a Christian response to the problem of unemployment in inner city Dublin.

Jobcare has specifically targeted the inner city area because many of those living there are second and third generation unemployed, as well as the area having a high number of lone parents and individuals with a history of criminal activity. In 2007, Paul Mooney was awarded a Level Two Award by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland in recognition of his innovative approach to addressing unemployment amongst ex-offenders.

Individuals experiencing long-term unemployment commonly face issues such as loss of self-worth and self-esteem, lack of selfconfidence - all of which impact their determination to change their situations.
Newly released prisoners, wanting to change, face the added challenge of changing behaviour patterns, finding constructive occupation and legitimate income in an environment that is often unsupportive and where employers are reluctant to take the risk of hiring them.

Cooking at Jobcare

A man stirs the pot at Jobcare

Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Cooking at Jobcare
Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Cooking at Jobcare

A man stirs the pot at Jobcare

Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Enlarge image

Jobcare provides a range of development opportunities for unemployed people with the aim of preparing individuals for employment, building their confidence and developing their skills. Jobcare offers courses, work programmes and resources that are distinctive in the way they focus on individual needs and potential.

The work programmes in particular provide transitional employment to 72 long-term unemployed people, including ex-offenders, where a prolonged period of coaching and care is facilitated.

Jobcare’s Courses
Jobcare’s Employment Preparation Course is a 47-hour course over five weeks. The Employment Preparation Course covers topics such as identification of skills, confidence building, CV and letter writing, job applications, interview skills, and other job-seeking skills.
183 people completed the Employment Preparation Course in 2009 and 60% were positively placed.
The computer courses provide jobseekers with computer literacy skills that are now essential. 126 people attended Jobcare computer courses last year and 78% achieved FETAC accreditation.

Computing at Jobcare

A man using a computer at Jobcare

Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Computing at Jobcare
Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Computing at Jobcare

A man using a computer at Jobcare

Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Enlarge image

Resources
Jobcare’s Resource Room is a facility for jobseekers offering useful resources: newspapers, internet access, wordprocessing, with assistance from staff. There were over 10,000 visits to the Resource Room during 2009.

New Services for Jobseekers
• New service offered by Resource Room – Online Learningzone – for jobseekers to engage in FAS online training courses within small groups with assistance from Jobcare staff
• New networking service launched in October 2010 – JobNet for job-seeking skilled/experienced professionals.

Computer session at Jobcare

A group of people using computers at Jobcare

Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Computer session at Jobcare
Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Computer session at Jobcare

A group of people using computers at Jobcare

Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Enlarge image

Work Programmes
As of 2010, Jobcare has 72 people on work programmes where participants are employed in an environment facilitating support, development and mentoring. Jobcare operates this through:
• Community Employment (CE): FAS-sponsored scheme offering contracts of one year, 20 paid hours per week involving work experience and vocational training. Jobcare enhances this by providing intensive coaching, career guidance/planning, and mentoring. Jobcare have developed an effective model that brings a participant from ‘unemployable’ to ‘job-ready’.
• Trasna Programme for ex-offenders which is similar to the CE scheme, but full-time. Participants work on labouring, restoration, decoration and building tasks as well as landscaping, kitchen, cleaning and events set-up assignments. Some participants are placed in administrative roles within Jobcare. Over a period of up to 24 months, individuals will work to achieve a record of employment, a positive reference from Jobcare, a FETAC Level 3 Major Award, and vocational qualifications to assist them in finding meaningful employment.

Through Jobcare’s CE scheme in 2009, 33 participants progressed on to employment or education, a success rate of 79%.
Since January 2008, 41 ex-offenders have commenced Trasna. Of the 27 participants who have moved on from Trasna only three have gone back to prison; 11% compared to the national average of 45%. 12 of the 27 have gone on into education or work.
In 2010, 82% of Trasna participants leaving the programme progressed positively, and not one participant returned to prison in two years.

Crane at Jobcare

Building work at Jobcare

Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Crane at Jobcare
Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Crane at Jobcare

Building work at Jobcare

Courtesy of Paul Mooney

Enlarge image

Jobcare is committed to making unemployable people jobready. Some organisations do good work with exoffenders and ex-addicts in this country, providing training, counselling, advocacy and placement into employment. A few employers are prepared to give individuals with a criminal record a chance to work, and may even help them overcome a few hurdles in settling in. But there are few employers, running commercial/community enterprises, who have the vision or resources to commit themselves to the diverse and individual needs of an employee attempting to reverse the course of their lives, rebuild their personal relationships and take on a new occupation without a pre-existing work record or ethic. Since its beginning in 1994, Jobcare has gathered the experience of employing and developing the unemployable, and remains committed to tailoring its services to those who might otherwise be left behind.

Jobcare is committed to a long journey with each participant – working to change established patterns and attitudes, forming new life-skills and ethics, and envisioning participants with a hope for the future that they find hard to picture for themselves. It is a slow yet thorough process that has been effective in bringing about sustainable and lasting change in participants to-date through a realistic and caring focus on attitude and behaviour. This occurs in a work environment, mirroring conditions that participants will find in the open marketplace yet providing the supports that won’t be found ‘out there’. By the time participants leave Jobcare, they will have become resilient enough to face these challenges unassisted.