“When I was made redundant, I was on uncharted waters, I didn’t know how to navigate the social welfare system at all. By going onto the Tús scheme, it wasn’t as daunting, because somebody was there to guide you through it, and that’s what made it easy.”
Portlaoise native Mary Hanrahan had worked for 25 years with an international supermarket chain when she was made redundant in 2016. This was the first time in her life that Mary found herself unemployed and actively looking for work, but fortunately she was directed towards the Tús work placement scheme, which set her on the path to her eventual fulltime employment with Laois Partnership Company (LPC).
Now an integral part of the LPC team as the Performance and Monitoring Officer, Mary’s journey began with that work placement through Tús, which is why she is a keen advocate of the scheme and its potential to change a person’s life.
Tús provides short-term working opportunities for unemployed people in community groups or organisations. Participants gain the many benefits that being in the workplace provides, while community and voluntary organisations benefit from the skills and experience that the participants can bring. There are placements lasting up to 18 months available throughout Laois in such areas as community groups, sports clubs and charities, with participants receiving a top-up on their Social Welfare payment while working.
Mary is living proof that Tús can be a pathway into full-time employment. When she was made redundant, Mary realised that she needed to upskill in preparation for the next stage in her career. The opportunity to enroll for several different courses was afforded to her when she joined the Tús scheme, with funding available through the Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme (SICAP) department of LPC.
“I was referred through the Department of Social Protection and I had to go for an interview. I was on social welfare for nine months, and after that they put the pressure on, so it was about a year on social welfare. I was able to go on the Tús scheme, which increased my social welfare payment for a year, and while I was on the scheme I was able to upskill and do all the training,” she says.
Although she felt that “at the age I was, going back to education was like going back to school”, Mary soon relished the opportunity to increase her learning. Among the courses she completed were computer skills at three different levels and reception skills, which were run through SICAP.
“I loved it. You could go in and if there was any training, it was offered to you. You didn’t feel that you had to do it, but the opportunity was there. It was a fantastic opportunity to upskill yourself. It allowed you to get your qualification while you were on a social welfare payment, and you didn’t have to pay for this training yourself, so that’s the encouraging part,” she says.
Mary applied herself so diligently and proved such a benefit to the company, that as her Tús placement was coming to an end in November 2018, she began work in administration with LPC on a part-time basis until the end of Christmas.
She assumed the duty of sorting out the company’s filing, which for an organisation as large and diverse as LPC proved to be a major undertaking. When the company’s budgets were then established for 2019, Mary went through an interview process before being taken onboard in the full-time position of SICAP Support Officer.
“I was monitoring and capturing all the good work that the community development workers do on the ground and making sure it was inputted into the system. I’ve been here ever since. After so long working face-to-face on a daily basis with the public, it’s completely different work, and the people are lovely,” says Mary.
Besides the Tús scheme, LPC also facilitates work placements through the Community Employment Childcare Training and Development Programme, which provides participants with training and qualifications in the childcare sector, and the Rural Social Scheme, which provides part-time farmers with an opportunity to earn a supplementary income.
If you are in receipt of a Social Welfare payment and interested in exploring a work placement, drop into your local Social Welfare office to discuss your options. For more information on any of the work placement schemes run through Laois Partnership Company, contact 05786 61900 or email [email protected].
The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) is co-funded by the Irish Government, through the Department of Rural and Community Development, and the European Union, through the European Social Fund Plus under the Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training (EIST) Programme 2021 -2027.