IRD Duhallow Community Employment Scheme Paddy O’ Connor C.E. Supervisor With over nineteen years’ experience, our CE supervisor Paddy has taken on responsibility for Health and Safety within IRD Duhallow, as Health & Safety Officer and has been instrumental in developing policies and procedures in line with best practice. Paddy supports the participants on our CE scheme in developing their skills and supports them to access training in their bid to return to mainstream employment using the online Individual Learning Plan Computer System. Each participant participates in the development of their own progression plan. As supervisor, Paddy O Connor meets with participants regularly to ensure progress on their training plans and work placements. Claire Guerin works in Duhallow Community Food Services as a Catering Assistant.
IRD Duhallow’s CE Scheme The Board of IRD Duhallow made the decision many years ago to enhance the offering of the IRD Duhallow CE Scheme by tapping into the centre of Social Enterprises in Newmarket at the James O’ Keeffe Institute. The foresight of the Board in this regard, ensured that our CE scheme was in a position to offer realistic work experience opportunities to participants. These opportunities afforded participants the chance to work locally gaining skills in areas where real employment opportunities exist, something essential in order to ensure progression from the scheme onto mainstream employment. This approach is borne out again this year with four of our participants progressing on to mainstream employment from our Social Enterprises this past year. We have made great strides in integrating our CE scheme with other Social welfare schemes including RSS, Tús, CSP etc. This Jakub Nowacki works for Duhallow Revamp where he has gained skills in refurbishment of furniture. integration while initially challenging, has resulted in greater team work and sense of belonging to an organisation, sharing common goals. It has also aided in the building of self-confidence and goal setting for people when they come on schemes initially. COVID 19 Our scheme works across the communities of Rathcoole, Boherbue, Ballydaly, Kilcorney, Dromtarriffe, Lyre, Newmarket and Banteer. We have been allocated 26 places by the Dept Social Protection and currently due to COVID 19 restrictions, we are prohibited from recruiting onto the scheme. With IRD Duhallow deemed an essential service by the Department of Housing, Vincent O’Sullivan works as a delivery driver Planning and Local Government, for DCFS, where he meets older and vulnerable people daily. DCFS has had a crucial role during our CE participants have really the COVID19 crisis and Vincent along with other stepped up to the mark and have CE participants have played a very important part in ensuring services continue. proved in the face of adversity, rural communities really do pull together and support each other. Most of our participants are supporting their community by redeploying to meals delivery to the elderly, laundry service and keeping their communities in top shape by continuing to maintain green areas across Duhallow as well as public buildings that remain open and ensure they
are cleaned down regularly and remain safe. This is testament to work ethic instilled in rural people and supported through our Community Employment Scheme. Participant Development through Training A corner stone of Community Employment is participant development through training. CE rules state participants must work towards a QQI, City & Guilds or other Certificate qualification, which encourages people to develop long term training and employment goals and supports them to achieve their training goals while on CE and positions them well to gain employment.
Joanne O’ Connor oversees bookings for training in the James O’ Keeffe Institute as par of her CE placement.
This past year saw participants undertake training in Security Skills, Manual Handling, Driver Certificate of Professional Competency, Start your own Business, Interview skills, Supervisory Management, Training Delivery and Evaluation, Upholstery, Safe Pass and ECDL courses. All of the courses undertaken by participants are certified through SOLAS, QQI or City and Guilds. Three of our participants progressed to employment this year.
Scheme Expansion: Our scheme was expanded in June this year to take on the Kiskeam scheme as its supervisor was retiring. This brings an additional 18 participants onto the IRD Duhallow scheme and which covers the communities of Kiskeam, Cullen, Ballydesmond and Knocknagree. We will now need to recruit an Assistant Supervisor. Tom Dennehy, Kiskeam, was part of the sponsor group in Kiskeam and sits on the IRD Duhallow Social Economy WG and has made the transition smooth for all the participants. TESTIMONIAL:
Douglas Ballantyne Douglas Ballantyne competed three years on CE in 2019 and gained employment with a Courier Business in Ringaskiddy. “I thought it was great experience to be on the CE scheme as it gave me the chance to work 19.5 while upskilling and completing courses at the same time.” Douglas Ballantyne gained employment post CE with Fastways deliveries.
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Philip Burns does an excellent job maintaining Boherbue GAA grounds.
Paudie O’Connor works as Stores man as part of his CE placements, encoding all community equipment for RSS, Tús, CE etc. is accounted for.
