Work experience plan for graduates - graduate jobs

An Irish employers' group has announced plans to offer work experience to Irish graduates who finished university last year.

The Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) said its Gradlink scheme would match graduates' skills to relevant disciplines in a series of nine-month placements.

A large number of the 60,000 graduates who left Irish universities last year would be looking to find a job, IBEC said.

The scheme aims to bolster their chances - with more than 50 firms already signed up and placements arranged for 20 graduates, according to an IBEC spokesman. Also, the Department of Social and Family Affairs said people registered on the programme would still be able to apply for social welfare benefits.

Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin said that the scheme tackled the problems facing recent graduates in their bid to begin work.