Hiring platform Indeed has committed €217,000 in funding to support job seekers facing barriers.
Working with Community Foundation Ireland (CFI), the 'Donor-Advised Fund' (DAF) will benefit six organisations working directly with job seekers.
The groups work with refugees, lone parents, people with disabilities and the long-term unemployed, among others, to provide services and programmes that support them on their journey to employment.
The six partner organisations are the Irish Red Cross, An Cosán, Fastrack into IT, Jobcare, the Open Doors Initiative and One Family.
Indeed surveyed over 500 job seekers facing barriers in Ireland including lone parents, people with disabilities, refugees and asylum seekers, ethnic minorities, the long term unemployed, people with a criminal record and older people.
The research found these job seekers need support overcoming practical challenges such as a lack of computer skills, not having a good professional or support network and not knowing where to find job opportunities.
"At Indeed, our mission has always been to help all people get jobs, and supporting job seekers who face additional barriers in the job market is a crucial part of that," said Daniel Corcoran Indeed’s Vice President of Global Strategy & Operations.
"As home to our International HQ for the past decade, Ireland has played a key role in enabling us to pursue that mission," Mr Cororan said.
Chief Executive Community Foundation Ireland Denise Charlton said the fund will allow extremely targeted actions and supports to improve employment outcomes for people facing disadvantage in different ways.
"Lone parents and people with disabilities have been among the hardest hit with the recent cost of living crisis," Ms Charlton said.
"These programmes will bring down barriers to work which stand in the way of many people in our communities," she added.
Latifa, a qualified lawyer who came to Ireland from Afghanistan in 2021 and lives in Dublin with her nine-year-old son, is among those benefiting from an Irish Red Cross programme focussed on supporting the needs of Afghan refugees in the greater Dublin area.
She is taking English language classes to improve her English with a view to pursuing an MA in Peace Studies at Maynooth University.
"After the Taliban took over, it was a very difficult time. I had to leave my son, I lost my country, and, when I arrived in Ireland, I couldn’t speak the language," Latifa said.
"With the Red Cross, it’s the first time I’ve had help with classes," she added.
