Good job it's a pub!

Paul Hurley, the owner of O'Casey's, a pretend Irish pub in New York, has converted its second floor into a jobcentre to help Irish immigrants find work. He has named this centre Fáilte 32 ~ fáilte is Gaelic for welcome, and 32 represents the number of counties on the island. (There's possibly a subtle political message there, as there are only 26 counties in the Irish republic.)  The NY Daily News article is here.

It's an interesting idea, and might be quite productive: anyone who has been involved in politics or trade unions particularly will know that problems are sometimes better sorted out in the pub after the meeting rather than in the meeting itself. However, I'm certain you'll never see such an idea catching on over here because, as previously reported, British jobcentre staff are barred from looking at anything on the internet to do with beer and breweries, including the "situations vacant" webpages ~ even though a job seeker might want to work in the industry. Having staff working on licensed premises would give the Jobcentre Plus board apoplexy as they networked their way to the 19th hole!