Skills Connect
Are you eligible for these free courses?

Eligibility Criteria

Please read the eligibility criteria below to determine if you are eligible to participate in our training for people who are seeking employment.

Eligible Individuals who are Welfare Payment Recipients

Unemployed people with an entitlement to a Jobseekers Allowance (JA) or Jobseekers Benefit (JB) payment from the Department of Employment Affairs & Social Protection (DEASP) may retain such payments subject to the Back to Education criteria of that Department.

People in receipt of other forms of income support from DEASP may retain such payments subject to the Back to Education criteria of that Department. Other forms of income support include:

• Jobseeker’s Credits only
• Blind Pension
• Disability Allowance
• Farm/Fish Assist
• Illness Benefit
• Invalidity Pension
• One-Parent Family Payment
• Rural Social Scheme
• Supplementary Welfare Allowance
• Adult Dependants (of listed schemes)

COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment

People in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) may participate in training delivered through Skillnet Ireland’s Skills Connect scheme and Employment Activation Programme (EAP). As most training available through these initiatives is of short duration or part-time, recipients may continue to receive the PUP. However, once recipients identify the specific training programme that they wish to undertake, they must check their eligibility to retain the PUP with their Intreo office.

Eligible Individuals who are not Welfare Payment Recipients

Individuals who are not in receipt of a welfare payment from DEASP and whose circumstances are described below are eligible to participate.

• Former sole traders and business owners
• Recent graduates who are unemployed
• Homemakers
• Retirees seeking to return to the workplace
• Individuals who fail to qualify for social welfare payments because of a spouse’s income
• Individuals signing on for credits but in receipt of no social welfare payment
• Individuals who have recently accepted redundancy payments
• Non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals holding immigration Stamp 4

Programme Duration Conditions for Welfare Recipients

Programmes offered by Skillnet Ireland networks may be full or part-time and may be continuous or staggered over time. Programmes may incorporate a work placement, the duration of which is included in the overall course duration.

Programmes of 20 or less days’ duration

Programmes of 20 or less days’ duration may be pursued without prior approval from Intreo Offices/DEASP Scheme Areas. Individuals in receipt of a Job-seekers payment or other payment (listed above) should inform their local offices, wherever possible in advance, of their intention to participate in such short programmes.

Programmes Exceeding 20 days’ Duration

Individuals in receipt of a Job-seekers payment or other payment (listed above) must receive prior approval from INTREO Offices/DEASP Scheme Areas to participate on programmes delivered by training networks which exceeds 20 days in duration. For example, Disability Allowance recipients should contact the Disability Allowance Section within DEASP.

Ineligible Unemployed Individuals

Skillnet Ireland, under its current mandate, does not provide training to unemployed people who fall into any of the following categories:

1. Current participants on Jobs Initiative (JI) Schemes
2. Non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals holding immigration Stamp 1, Stamp 2 or Stamp 3
3. Full-time students engaged in second or third-level education.

Important Additional Information for Unemployed Individuals

Please note that:

• Once eligibility has been established, it is the responsibility of the Skillnet Learning Network to decide who participates in training based on the network’s programme selection criteria
• Skillnet Learning Network Managers may seek information about previous work history, education and career aspirations to ensure programmes that candidates are interested in completing are relevant
• If training occurs on the same day as a signing day, it is the responsibility of the learner to inform the INTREO Office and arrange an alternative signing day prior to commencing training
• All trainees are required to complete relevant programme documentation including a Participant Profile Form and a Training Evaluation Form
• After training is complete, learners may be contacted by the Skillnet Learning Networks or a representative of Skillnet Ireland for the purposes of evaluating programmes and determining how learners have progressed since the completion of training
• Learners must be resident in the Republic of Ireland

Further details of Skills Connect can be found on the Skillnet Ireland website.