Teachers vent fury as FAS gets all 51,000 training slots
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A MAJOR row has erupted over the allocation of 51,000 new FAS training places for people who have lost their jobs.
The unemployed workers will have access to one-to-one vocational and career guidance. Depending on their needs, they will be able to enrol on short courses, night courses or online programmes. FAS is in the process of making an additional 42 online courses available.
But the plan has angered the Teachers' Union of Ireland which claims the bulk of the places should have gone towards the education sector, given the severe skills shortage of most of the workers.
Union education officer Bernie Judge said one in six adults did not progress beyond primary school level and 35pc did not have upper secondary schooling.
News of the Government's decision to give all the 51,000 places to FAS came in the middle of the union's news conference to launch its six-point action plan aimed at kickstarting the economy through education.
Priority
It was greeted with disappointment by general secretary Peter MacMenamin who said the country faced a "national emergency". He argued that access to further, adult and third-level education should be a priority.
"VECs and Institutes of Technology have the ability and proven track record in responding to the needs of employment in their local areas," said Mr MacMenamin. He accused FAS of duplicating programmes run by Vocational Education Committees.
However, a FAS spokesperson denied this and said the state training agency worked in partnership to ensure high quality programmes and effective training for jobseekers. The authority was willing to review any unnecessary duplication, he added.
Mr MacMenamin insisted he did not want to "name and shame" anybody, but he said there were instances of Post Leaving Certificate work-related courses which had enrolled students only to find similar courses "coincidentally" started by the local FAS centre.
FAS was able to offer an allowance which meant students left the PLC course, which was internationally accredited, to enrol in one which may not have the same level of international recognition.
Apart from seeking the bulk of the 51,000 places, the union's action plan also calls for an increase in the number of funded places to education providers; an expansion of part-time education; a global funding grant for VECs; greater co-ordinating of state agencies; a review of the criteria and requirements for participation in education.
The union also agreed that it may be necessary to reduce the number of Vocational Education Committees.
There are 33 VECs at present and president Don Ryan suggested it may not be necessary to have two in Waterford, Galway and Tipperary.
- John Walshe Education Editor
