Employment Programme for Parents of Irish Born Children (EPIC)

The programme was set up in response to a decision made in 2005 by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The Minister announced a scheme to grant temporary residency for two years to those individuals who were Parents of Irish Born Children born in Ireland before the 1^st of January 2005 who did not have Irish citizenship. Following this two year period the applicant must demonstrate that they have taken steps towards becoming economically independent in the State in order to maintain residency. For this reason, it was decided to develop a project that would support people in this group to access employment, training and education.

The programme runs for six weeks and is made up of an intense three week English for employment course, two weeks of life skills modules focusing on areas such as employment rights and entitlements, social welfare to work, the Irish Adult Education System, money advice and budgeting and stress management.

On the sixth week of the course the focus is on work preparation skills such as writing CVs, cover letters and mock interviews. 

During training we provide participants with tickets to public transport and we offer a wide range of Social Support through our Social Support Officer.

When students have completed the six weeks training programme Training and Employment Officers (TEO'S) will provide them with assistance in making contacts with potential employers and accessing employment.

English classes

Our English classes take place every three weeks. The classes aim to provide a range of educational support to ensure that the participants are familiar with language terms used in C.V.'s cover letters, interviews and also in the workplace. Each class lasts for three hours.

In the first week students gain confidence in discussing their; daily routine, hobbies and interests, likes and dislikes, life experience and what they would like to do in the future.

The second week is focused on the language we use in the workplace, such as; giving and taking directions, giving and taking instructions, making and taking telephone calls and making and dealing with complaints.

On the third week students learn interview skills and how to create a C.V. and cover letter.

The classes also aim to build students confidence in their own level of English and also confidence in speaking in public.

Students are expected to have an intermediate or higher level of English in order to take part in the course. On the first meeting with each participant their level of English will be assessed. If their level of English is not suitable for our programme they will be referred onto other agencies.

The course takes place over three weeks, Monday to Friday from 10 am until 1 pm.

Life Skills

On this part of the training the focus is on employment and integration issues.

We invite guest speakers from different government and non government organisations to give presentation about rights, entitlements, family law and child-minding etc.

All the sessions are interactive and conducted in a friendly and relaxed manner during the last three weeks of the training, Monday - Friday from 2pm to 5pm.

Through these modules we aim to empower our participants with the necessary information, to build their confidence and to help them in making informed decisions about their future.

The full list of Life Skills modules are:

1. Employment rights & Taxation System
2. Social Welfare to work
3. Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS)
4. Life Skills - Experience
5. Irish Family Law - Child Protection
6. Child-minding
7. Garda Intercultural
8. Recognising and coping with stress
9. Time Management
10. Access to housing
11. Entrepreneurship
12. Irish Adult Education System
13. Work place culture

Social Support

Our Social Support Officer is available to support you to deal with any difficulties you may have. She will offer you individual support in dealing with problems such as:

• Child-care, e.g. difficulty in finding appropriate child-care
• Welfare to Work options; advice with how your social welfare payments will be affected when you start work and the best option for you
• Social Welfare Appeals
• Accommodation problems
• Relationship difficulties
• Family re-unification
• Dealing with trauma experienced in country of origin
• Health concerns
• Dealing with stress, anxiety, depression

Some financial support is available to assist toward the cost of child-care. This is €35 per child per week, based on attendance. This can be applied for through the Social Support Officer. The Social Support Officer is available Monday and Tuesday 9am to 5pm and on Wednesdays from 10am to 2pm.