Last week, it was announced that the infamous JobBridge scheme would be discontinued in September and replaced with a new programme. This news raises questions of what format a new system should take, considering the past criticisms of the scheme.
The idealised JobBridge scheme was set up in an attempt to break the cycle of unemployment for both graduates and for those who have faced long-term unemployment. However, it was met with widespread criticism for promoting the exploitation of young and unemployed people, with some going as far as to call it “forced labour”. Indeed, many suspect stories emerged detailing how frugal companies used JobBridge to cut costs on staff, offering their “employees” little valuable experience and ultimately undermining the goal of creating meaningful employment.
The results of the scheme were spun in a positive way, with many interns claiming to have had “positive experiences”. However, while the positive feedback is commendable, it does not indicate that the programme served the purpose it set out for itself. Internships are supposed to be educational experiences whereby participants are exposed to many aspects of working life and are given opportunities to develop job skills. Instead, many of those who partook in one of the initial 5,000 internships offered by JobBridge were used to do the grunt work for companies using them as a cost-saving mechanism.
When confronted with the choice between unemployment and participating in a scheme such as this, it is easy to see why recent graduates volunteer to work for free in JobBridge. Regrettably, however, this scheme has legitimised the ever-growing culture of unpaid work, which renders it necessary to undertake voluntary work placements to compete in the limited job market.
A more nuanced scheme is needed if newly appointed Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar, is to follow through with his promise to replace JobBridge. The “one-size-fits-all” approach has not succeeded in catering for the different groups availing of the scheme, with tradespeople and university graduates offered the same internship programme. A more nuanced system where the unemployed would be offered valuable opportunities for growth without being exploited for work would be welcomed by graduates and others who have been out of employment for a while.
