Opinions on FAS

Bagenal

I'm starting this thread just to get peoples opinions on FAS in general, there are other threads for WPP/Internships.
I can remember before FAS i.e. Manpower and Anco. Manpower was a waste of time and money whereas Anco was good. When they merged to form FAS it seems to me that nothing changed, the training section is good but the rest is just plain old nonsense.

brian ireland

I found my current job on FAS last year so i am happy as a pig in s...:D Now I use it to find staff.

Wasn't too happy about the way they changed the search engine though, it's confusing.

Bagenal

Fair enough Brian, good to see some positive news. Well done & best of luck in the future

Shelga

FAS is a farce of an organisation. Their courses aren't worth the paper they're printed on, and they have been no help whatsoever to me in the last 7 months as I looked for a job.

Eventually I turned my attention to England for work, and was called for an assessment centre. I emailed the FAS lady who had called me for a pointless interview some months earlier, to ask her for tips. The response I received was, and I quote, "No I'm sorry, I don't know anything about that."

I shudder to think how much these cretins are paid.

dirtyghettokid

i loved the fas course i did about 3 years ago, but i couldn't get a job after it. they've been absolutely useless in terms of job search, help with jobs etc. i'm convinced their favourite saying it "i'm sorry, we cannot help you" :rolleyes:

gline

Ive been messed around with fas a fair bit, it seems they are always trying to get you to do some course that they are told to fill whether it is suited to you or not. And the people I have dealt with in there......lets just say they were not the right people for the job and very unprofessional. They sent me on 2 sets of training but when it came to doing the exam they ran out of money and couldnt pay for me to do it, so basically wasted months of my time and I got no qualification out of it, so I was back in the same situation I started in, after that I havent been back in. In my opinion the organization needs a massive overhual, I'd say they could get rid of a lot of their staff and replace them with better people that will work harder in the job and make more of an effort, just my opinion.

sendit

A friend of mine did a FAS course not so long ago a computer one i think it was. They weren't too interested in it and wanted to wait for another one but were told if they didn't take that one then they'd be taken off the FAS list. So they did it anyway and they said there was some people who had no idea what so ever how to used a computer so the teacher would spend most of the time with them and no time with the people who were moving ahead. They were then doing there exam and something was wrong nothing much i think and they asked the superviser about it and they just said ''I dont know''

I said before about the job part of the website having more or less no details about the jobs on it

degrassinoel

i was made unemployed during the 90's - at around 21 years old or so. I immediately went to fas for training as an electrician, just like my old man.. only to be told directly that i wouldnt be suited to the course and i should instead take the general engineering for operatives course.

I was browbeaten and railroaded into taking it by the three guys in the interview.

After a few weeks, a Fás instructor named Peter Mullhall called me to let me know i'd been "Terminated" (his words) from the course due to "Messing" (his words again)
I can only assume to this day that it was a case of mistaken identity and never did anything about it. I was as quiet as a mouse back then, did my work and scored incredibly high on the few tests i did do, including making a stainless steel celtic cross on a stand, which i still have! I scored 97% on that from the city and guilds guys.

The short of it is, these guys browbeat me into taking a course i didnt want, then terminated me a few weeks later even though i had done nothing wrong, and had been scoring high in the tests i took.

That said, i have gotten a few decent jobs from the Fás website since then too.

gozunda

FAS as an organisation is a complete dinosaur

They spends millions of taxpayers money to keep themselves in jobs rather than implement a fair and transparent training system

In my experience they turn a blind eye to training courses that dont actually offer training, are blatently fraudulant and facilitate culture of bullying

IMO The sooner FAS is disbanded the better.

longpuck

gozunda wrote: »

FAS as an organisation is a complete dinosaur

They spends millions of taxpayers money to keep themselves in jobs rather than implement a fair and transparent training system

In my experience they turn a blind eye to training courses that dont actually offer training, are blatently fraudulant and facilitate culture of bullying

IMO The sooner FAS is disbanded the better.

Did a FAS course a few months back to pass the time really. It was the biggest joke of a thing ever. Never had any contact with them, had issues with getting paid etc. When the course was over they then said that was an issue with the course provider not them even though all along everyone was led to think FAS were the ones to contact. As you'd expect from them all they did was try and pass the blame onto someone ealse

allibastor

FAS needs to be broken down to its core elemtents and built again on a solid foundation of skills and training to get people into work. they have a lot of staff who are only still working cause they are there already and in no rush to move. the WPP program is a load of rubbish as it is my opinion not really regulated as companies seem to be using it to hire for free. the jobs section has loads of these marketing companies now placing adds.
most of the staff seem very unhelpful. after i got my MA i could not find a job so went to FAS only to be told they could not do anything for me as their courses would not look as good as an MA.

they seem to have lost thier way and should be dismantled and re built like some places have done in the UK>

Kinetic^

Have done 1 full time and 2 part time courses with FAS. I found that if you put in the work you get something from it. A lot of the people in the courses were just passing time to ensure they got their dole money. I used it as a platform to become self employed.

allibastor

jesus fair play.

it is true that most people will only do the course to get dole, but is that not a problem then with the system that they place people on course and let them do nothing on them just to be able to say, " yes, mr. smith did a course on such and such, therefore we should keep giving him money because he satisfied a certain criteria that we have that people on the dole need to do 1 course every few years"

it is a pity most people dont have the get up and go you seem to have, good to hear a good news story from FAS.

Kinetic^

allibastor wrote: »

it is true that most people will only do the course to get dole.

Part of the reason for this was down to how the participants were chosen. It was done on aptitude tests, out of 120 or so, top 18 were chosen and 3 of us got employment (only 3 of us looked tbh). Which is wrong. Had it been on an interview process you would've seen who was actually interested in the subject.

KarlDrake

I completed two Fás courses a few years ago.

One was excellent the other terrible.

A bit like the Dáil; great idea badly executed.

This Solas malarkey is Windscale to Sellafield.

allibastor

Kinetic^ wrote: »

Part of the reason for this was down to how the participants were chosen. It was done on aptitude tests, out of 120 or so, top 18 were chosen and 3 of us got employment (only 3 of us looked tbh). Which is wrong. Had it been on an interview process you would've seen who was actually interested in the subject.

point exactly, they just seem to give people a course to do, wheter it is something they will have an interest in or not. how many people do these course just because they have to. i am big in favour of getting people back to work and training and upskilling, but most people need to wait for the right thing to come along, not just because FAS need to make up numbers or quotas

Jarren

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0727/breaking26.html

They claim that it will be a new agency.


yeaah . right :rolleyes:

allibastor

jarecki1976 wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0727/breaking26.html

They claim that it will be a new agency.


yeaah . right :rolleyes:

the only way they can show it will be a new agency is to ensure that a lot of the old chaff who are working there are shown the old P45. lets hope it does move in the right direction, but ireland has a history of inventing changing the shop name but keeping the same monkeys behind the door.

they shouls look to the future needs of the business world for guidance and see if they can HELP employees to gain better training ans skills, not do what the governement are in the process of and cutting students and people on BTEI off at the knees with cuts and new measures.

thanks

Mental Mickey

How much money will be spent/wasted on changing the name on signs outside the various Training Centres and getting rid of FAS letterheads/envelopes, and replacing them with the new "SOLAS" logo? Also, I'd love to know how much the numpty who came up with the new name was paid for the privilege??

allibastor

dont you know it was some rela.tive of a TD of some such. or maybe the guys who came up with the london 2012 thing!

catch me if you can

The new look website for FAS is crap and not user friendly. whoever dreamed that up was an idiot.
There are hardly any real jobs on Fas, everything is a work placement scheme.
Its a disgrace that jobs in warehouses, and packing lines, and shops are being offered as work placement schemes.

If i was unemployed i would pick out the companies i wanted to work in and contact them directly.

FAS is a joke.

Iirsh jobs.ie is ok except that it is overun by recruitment agencies.
These offer an overpaid and useless service and employers are stupid for using them.

if i ever saw a job offered by a recruitment agency, i would ring the agency , feign interest , find out who the company are, and then apply myself dircetly. Save the employer and myself a load of middle man crap

pmcd22

i am disgusted by the system. Now the govenment action is to give an extra 50euros while getting some experience.

So lets forget the WWP, who would want to do them now since you can get 50euro extra.

But now the list is flooded with the scheme. As a guy living in the countryside I would be losing out if i took on a govenment scheme as it would be 50euro be gone the petrol alone.

I already done a paid internship and still having got anything over a good time. i was sick for awhile so trying to get going again.

The job list is flooded with employers loking for cheap labour thinking they are doing a good job. The only way that govenment scheme would give any benifit to me if the value exceeds 100euro. I didn't go to college to work for free. I applied for a few grad I.T jobs, hopefully one will click for me. If you hear of any other ones available. give me a PM. much appreciated.

gozunda

:rolleyes::cool:I hesitate to quote myself however...

gozunda wrote: »

IMO The sooner FAS is disbanded the better.

I typed this just yesterday! and lo and behold today

A new education and training authority is to replace Fás, which is being disbanded, it was announced today.

jarecki1976 wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0727/breaking26.html
...

Do you think I have another two wishes left....hmmmm whats next methinks :cool:

kippy

gozunda wrote: »

:rolleyes::cool:I hesitate to quote myself however...



I typed this just yesterday! and lo and behold today





Do you think I have another two wishes left....hmmmm whats next methinks :cool:

This has been on the cards for the past two years (a FF policy) and it had been mentioned in the program for this government. This has taken some time to get to this point and it shouldn't have - we should already be there.

Essentially what will need to happen, whether it does or not, is a refocus about who exactly this new organisation (FAS/VEC) will target and how best to pool together the knowledge, buildings and resources of both.
The major issue with the "old" organisations is that they were trying (and failing) to be everything to everybody. You could go into a short course in FAS (and nothing wrong with a hell of a lot of them) and end up with a major mix of skills and abilities in the class which makes it very difficult for everyone.
There are areas of the education system that this new organisation can address - more areas than a lot of people realise, perhaps gateway courses into further education, continuing with the "heavy skills" and helping out early school leavers, disadvantaged and communities across the country through community employment (although I believe a portion of this is going to DSP)

The legislation to split FAS was enacted months ago.

Delancey

Changing the name to Solas will change nothing - not when the ' new ' agency is using the same staff.

Jarren

Indeed

They had this planned for some time now me thinks


Fás to change name to Bas to reflect moribund state of organisation
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
After two days of meetings, the board of State training agency Fás is believed to have selected a new name for the agency which will better reflect its position in Irish society.



A report detailing the name change and the reason for it is to be sent to the Minister for Education and Skills Mary Coughlan within a month.

However, a source has indicated to The Mire that only one letter is to change in the name of the organisation. “We don’t want to spend money needlessly anymore. If we can just change one letter in the letterhead fortunes could be saved,” the source said.

“To truly reflect the moribund nature of Fás we are changing its name to Bas,” he added.

http://www.themire.net/fas-to-change-name-to-bas-to-reflect-moribund-state-of-organisation/


Monday, 6 September 2010

The Director General of FÁS has said he believes the agency will emerge as a re-focused skills agency at the end of a strategic review, which, he hinted, could include a name change.
Paul O'Toole said a 'comprehensive' set of changes are already in place at the State training authority.
He said FÁS staff were doing their very best for the large number of people now out of work.
The board of FÁS meets in Waterford tonight and tomorrow. Three main items will dominate the agenda - the organisation's current performance, issues surrounding contracted training and the strategy for the future of its operations.
On the last point he said FÁS hoped to report back to the Government by early October and that he believed the name FÁS will 'come under scrutiny' during this process.
He also apologised to people who had not received certificates after completing courses, saying a review of their training had been undertaken.
'We have identified some issues and are working our way through them.
'We regret that people have had their certification delayed' he said, adding this would 'be resolved as soon as possible'.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0906/fas.html

One thing is certain,they have agreed on the name but I still think that it is a pointless waste of Taxpayers money.:mad:

MyKeyG

I went for an interview two weeks ago. I'd have gotten better guidance not to mention enthusiasm from the empty chair. She asked what I was interested in and I said accounting or journalism. She had nothing available on journalism and had no inclination discussing alternatives. She printed up a Two year Accounting Technician syllabus, told me to think about it and said goodbye. I could have done all that myself from the web.

Truth be told if education is my only option at the moment then FAS are the last people in the world I'd deal with. They seemingly refuse to help with anything beyond their own collection of pointless courses.

In all fairness if there's no work then there's no work but then why waste government money keeping these people in full time employment when they'd be just as useful standing beside me on the dole cue. Don't get me wrong I don't want to see anyone lose their job but I certainly don't agree with farcical employment.

star106

Went to the interview a few days ago with FAS, cant say she was not helpful but was kind of forcing me to do a course which i didnt want to do.

allibastor

Delancey wrote: »

Changing the name to Solas will change nothing - not when the ' new ' agency is using the same staff.

brilliant point. the whole show needs to be changed, re naming something will not do huge justice if the staff there are still set in the old ways of work. a completly new system needs to be placed to ensure that staff are able to deal with upskilling and education, not just shoving people on a course to make the books look good. as said above no one wants to see people lose thier jobs but some of the chaff here needs to be removed to make way for more dynamic approaches into job creation and providing the skills and education needed for this.

thanks

gozunda

kippy wrote: »

This has been on the cards for the past two years (a FF policy) and it had been mentioned in the program for this government. This has taken some time to get to this point and it shouldn't have - we should already be there.

Essentially what will need to happen, whether it does or not, is a refocus about who exactly this new organisation (FAS/VEC) will target and how best to pool together the knowledge, buildings and resources of both.
The major issue with the "old" organisations is that they were trying (and failing) to be everything to everybody. You could go into a short course in FAS (and nothing wrong with a hell of a lot of them) and end up with a major mix of skills and abilities in the class which makes it very difficult for everyone.
There are areas of the education system that this new organisation can address - more areas than a lot of people realise, perhaps gateway courses into further education, continuing with the "heavy skills" and helping out early school leavers, disadvantaged and communities across the country through community employment (although I believe a portion of this is going to DSP)

The legislation to split FAS was enacted months ago.

Yes I know much of this already .....

I believe my post

gozunda wrote: »

was meant to be facetious....I will be making my next wish for annilihation shortly.....>insert evil laugh<

Suggestions on a postcard please to myself

Munster64

Fas have a strange rule that a safepass course can only be run when more than 8 are present. While the idea seems ok, it causes major problems these days for construction workers who attempt to renew their cards. If one is on a course, and less than 8 show up on the morning, the course will be cancelled.I am aware of several people who were on courses only to be informed the last minute that the course was cancelled. The CIF, the Unions and Fas seem to all agree on this figure of 8. It makes no difference if one needs the renewed card for a new job.