THE CONSTRUCTION industry has expressed concerns about the Government’s plans to establish a new agency, Solas, to replace the State training body Fás. However the move has been welcomed by trade unions.
The Construction Industry Federation said it had raised concerns about the future direction of training and supports for the building sector, particularly in relation to apprentices, on foot of the Government’s announcement.
A spokesman for the federation said: “The construction industry is a major contributor to the national training fund, paying over €45 million last year to the fund, and yet has had no input into the planned reorganisation of supports for the sector as part of the Government’s wider restructuring of Fás.”
“In the past three years, nearly 200,000 direct jobs have been lost in the sector and thousands of apprentices have lost their positions mid-training and have been left in limbo as a consequence.
“Thousands of graduates are also left without any opportunity to pursue their chosen profession. Despite this, the level of consultation by Government has been extremely poor and the industry is concerned that this trend has continued through to the establishment of a new national training organisation.”
It said the new agency needed to react to what was happening on the ground but could not if it was not interacting with stakeholders.
“We have called for the establishment of an enterprise focus within a government department on the construction industry to safeguard jobs and skills and to enable the internationalisation of the sector with significant dividend for the domestic economy.”
The Teachers Union of Ireland, which which represents teachers in vocational education committees and lecturers in institutes of technology, welcomed the establishment of Solas as the new State training agency.
TUI deputy general secretary Annette Dolan said: “This announcement comes at a critical time for education and training in the country. We welcome the Minister’s affirmation that VECs will be ultimately responsible for the delivery to the public of both further education and training services. This proven sector is ideally placed to develop the balanced skill set that the country urgently requires with a wide range of high quality and fully accredited courses.”
Fás also welcomed the Government’s announcement. Chairman Michael Dempsey said it provided “a clear direction for the future of further education and skills training in the context of a difficult and changing labour market”.
“It represents a very significant step forward at this pivotal time . . . Solas will afford us the opportunity to provide for the needs of individual learners and jobseekers. On behalf of the board and staff of Fás, we commit to delivering on this Government decision.”
Fás director general Paul O’Toole said: “We look forward to embracing the challenge of ensuring high-quality opportunities for learners to help them secure and retain employment. In the recent past, we have worked closely with the board to put in place extensive measures to ensure the highest standards of corporate governance, relevant training, quality assurance systems and improved financial controls. I am confident this robust approach will carry forward.”