Some 7,000 unemployed people received training from Skillnets in 2012, as the State-funded body placed a greater emphasis on job-seekers and owner-managers.

In an end-of-year statement issued yesterday the training organisation said about 2,800 people had taken part in the Skillnets-run Job-seekers Support Programme in the past 12 months, receiving training based on the needs of industry. The programme gives trainees direct access to employers through focused work placements.

Skillnets, which facilitates training through networks of private companies, plans to invest up to €3 million in the programme in 2013. Chief executive Alan Nuzum said the organisation this year focused more on programmes for job-seekers and owner-managers.

“Whereas, in the past, our training networks were focused solely on those in employment, the training of job-seekers now comprises a significant proportion of our work.”

The body expanded its job-seekers’ programmes in 2012 is reviewing them to identify those that produced the best outcomes.

“Our findings will inform our work in the years to come,” said Mr Nuzum.

Separately yesterday, the development body for the Dublin-based Digital Hub said almost 80 per cent of companies based there had widened their client base in 2102.

The Digital Hub Development Agency said some 44 per cent of companies had hired additional staff, while two-thirds plan to do so in 2013.

The Digital Hub, based in inner-city Dublin, aims to create clusters of companies involved in technology and digital content.