FAS employment agency: 40 pc still on the dole,who benefits..

national | worker & community struggles and protests | opinion/analysis

Sunday September 19, 2010 17:54

by elaine morrisey

FAS,the troubled state agency has lost all credibility,and this has not just been recently,this has been happening for years,with the government of the state 'training educational' agency,standing by still in support of these 'services',to provide free labour,and continue to not pay the people making FAS happen,the ce workers.FAS pay employers who take on their FAS employees hundreds of euros,while the FAS ce or apprentices,get paid by social welfare,this is not a system that works for the unemployed,currently only 3 % of former fas workers are employed in the jobs market,so what good has FAS done for the unemployed minus themselves and thier business associates apart from making the dole stats look good,what use is that when FAS are draining our economy and providing no job oppurtunities across the board.
brainstorming for a new name will not solve the old problems in the well heeled FAS senior management.

fas ''employment'',for us or for them..

There have been countless reports on FAS,not just in our headlines,and in newspapers,but other agencys set up to investigate them,costing 1,000 euros a day in one FAS building.
http://info-wars.org/2010/05/15/ireland-fas-to-pay-inve...taff/

''THE chief training programme at FAS is at crisis point with more than 40pc of its apprentices out of work, the Irish Independent has learnt.

More than 7,700 apprentices of the troubled state-training agency are on the dole and have no idea when they will qualify.

Despite various government initiatives to get them off social welfare, the number of redundant apprentices has continued to climb.

The revelation comes as FAS battles to restore the reputation of its courses following uproar over charges of malpractice.

The Irish Independent has also learnt that the agency plans to replace its National Register of Trainers following the discovery of malpractice in some courses run by outside companies contracted by FAS.

Plans are also being put in place to introduce new contracts and procedures after a review found evidence of exam papers being marked incorrectly and possible manipulation of assessments.

Meanwhile, new figures reveal the number of apprentices left in limbo after becoming unemployed in the middle of their placements has more than doubled since 2008.

Two years ago, there were 3,078 unemployed apprentices. This number soared to 6,383 last year, before rising by more than 20pc to 7,717 this year. Almost 90pc are in construction and related trades.

Some apprentices have been in limbo for longer than two years, placing an estimated annual burden of up to €100m on the public purse in social welfare payments and lost taxes.

The Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) last night predicted the number of unemployed apprentices would rise by another 2,000 next year if the Government did not make an urgent exception to its recruitment ban in the public sector.

Scandals

There are growing fears that these apprentices may never qualify since Labour education spokesman Ruairi Quinn called for the state agency to be axed in the wake of a series of scandals, saying FAS had lost all credibility.

TEEU general secretary Eamon Devoy said the union had been inundated with queries from apprentices following recent training controversies.

"There is huge concern they will not be able to finish their apprenticeships," he told the Irish Independent. "The number of unemployed apprentices is 7,500 at present, out of 18,500. Four years ago there were 26,000 apprentices and there was virtually no unemployment.

FAS said a redundant apprentices' placement scheme, launched last April, was expected to enable 500 apprentices to finish on-the-job training, by paying employers a subsidy of €250 per apprentice a week - money down the drain.FAS are draining our government

FAS offers 26 apprenticeships including ones for painters, car mechanics and electricians, and there are currently 18,664 apprentices.''

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FAS employment agency: 40 pc still on the dole,who benefits..