Employment Pact Midlands

Territorial Employment Pacts (TEP’s) are designed to highlight the importance of locally based initiatives to combat unemployment. TEP’s try to identify the difficulties encountered by each of the local and regional players involved in the field of employment creation, mobilising all available resources in favour of an integrated strategy for the creation of new employment opportunities, as well as to better integrate and co-ordinate measures for creating sustainable jobs.

The Employment Pact Midlands is one of two TEPs established in Ireland in order to develop appropriate responses to the problem of long-term unemployment. The TEP Strategic & Implementation Action Plan outlines the key objectives for 2007 as:

To identify and address, through specific research, emerging target groups and related issues and to further identify appropriate responses, so as to ensure their full participation in all aspects of society e.g. rural communities, financial exclusion, digital inclusion etc,
To facilitate and develop further interagency co-operation in the area of services to the unemployed e.g. local and regional frameworks
To work in partnership with other agencies to develop alternative employment opportunities for the unemployed and socially excluded, for example, through the Social Economy and Social Finance
To develop relationships with employers, which facilitate a process whereby, the EPM links unemployed people with the local and regional labour market e.g. North Westmeath Initiative.

The EPM conducts research activity (much of it in partnership with other agencies) to identify emerging target groups and related issues and formulate appropriate responses. Issues addressed to date include: Social Exclusion in a Rural Context; Transport; Social Finance; Employers Staffing & Recruitment Practices, Digital Exclusion and the Needs of Migrant Workers.

Similar to the Area Based and Community Partnerships, the Employment Pacts are also funded through Pobal.

The Director of the Midland Regional Authority, Mr. Jim Stone, continues to act as Chairperson and Director of the Board of the Employment Pact Midlands.