Youth Employment Support Scheme (For Employers)

What the Youth Employment Support Scheme is

The Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS) is a work experience placement programme which is specifically targeted at young jobseekers aged 18-24 years of age who are long-term unemployed or who face barriers to employment. The YESS will aim to provide jobseekers with the opportunity to learn basic work and social skills in a supportive environment while on a work placement. The scheme will provide a supportive structure for participants, including case officer support for both placement hosts and jobseekers.

While participation on the YESS will be wholly voluntary for both parties involved, there will be certain qualifying and eligibility conditions that both placement hosts and jobseekers will have to satisfy. For further information on the scheme qualifying criteria, please refer to the guidelines below.

All YESS placements will be advertised on the Jobs Ireland Website and interested jobseekers will have to log onto same to view scheme vacancies.

The YESS will be available to jobseekers and other eligible cohorts who are

Candidates must be in receipt of one of the following qualifying payments:

The YESS is a programme specifically designed to provide workplace experience opportunities to young jobseekers while on a work placement. Participants on the YESS will be required to work 24 hours per week, and placements will be for 3 months initially, with an option to extend this further to 6 months.

A designated case officer will liaise with the jobseeker and Host throughout the period of the placement, to monitor how well it is progressing for both parties and provide appropriate advice/support. This will include a formal review meeting after 2 months, which will facilitate the case officer in deciding whether to approve a request for an extension of the duration to 6 months.

Clearly defined learning and development outcomes for each placement will also be identified. A Learning and Development Plan will be agreed between all parties at the outset of the placement and the case officer will monitor the progress of same. The placement host will nominate an individual to support and mentor the participant during the placement.

Important Information for employers

The YESS will be open to organisations in the private, community and voluntary sectors only.

There will be clear eligibility requirements for placement Hosts to participate on the scheme, and they must agree to Terms and Conditions when they advertise a placement.

All YESS placements must be advertised on the department’s Jobs Ireland website, and employers must register on this site to do so.

The eligibility criteria for an employer to host a YESS placement include the following:

YESS (Youth Employment Support Scheme) Guidelines