Firms asked to employ homeless

EMPLOYERS are being asked to give a job to a homeless person as part of a campaign by Irish industry to tackle social problems.

Firms are invited to take part in a fact-finding visit to homeless services next month to see the issues involved first hand and find out how to implement the Ready To Work programme in their own workplace.

The programme is devised by Business In The Community (BITC), a network of Irish businesses promoting corporate responsibility, but the idea has been borrowed from Britain where retailers Marks and Spencer have taken the lead in giving homeless people work opportunities.

BITC board member and chief executive of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, John Dunne, said he had no doubt that Irish companies would be willing to give the programme a chance once they knew what it entailed.

He stressed the scheme was not about charity but about designing “a win-win situation” both for industry and people outside the workforce through no fault of their own.

“There are two ways of looking at it. The labour market remains fairly tight and employers always have to be on the look-out for new sources of employees. It’s also helping people break out of a destructive cycle which in turn reduces social costs,” he said.

“The business community has two options when it comes to social problems. You can complain about things and expect someone else to go out and fix them or you can roll up your sleeves and see how you can help.”

BITC will provide a mediation service to liase initially with interested firms and homeless agencies and later work out the details of the programme between prospective employees and their prospective employers.