Moving from permanent to FTC at 3rd level institution

mickomatic

Hi,
I have been in a permanent job in a multinational for 20 years and need a change.
I have been called for interview for job in a 3rd level institution, but it is a FTC for 3 years.
The role is an administrative one which a salary scale etc.
I am completely unfamiliar with the workings of these types of jobs.

Q1) I am nervous about moving to FTC, but am wondering if, for admin roles, is it just the case that there is an embargo on full time hiring and they will just roll it over?
Q2) It seems that there is a pension contribution of some kind, so that is good, but I would appreciate any pointers on what to look out for
Q3) For FTC what are the normal vacation entitlements?
Q4) Because it is a public service job am I likely to have to go through endless rounds of psych testing, IQ tests and all that jazz/

Any other tips greatly appreciated.

griffin100

I've sat on interview boards for 3 third level colleges and work in one. In my experience:

Q1) I am nervous about moving to FTC, but am wondering if, for admin roles, is it just the case that there is an embargo on full time hiring and they will just roll it over?

There are employment control frameworks in place so it's hard but not impossible to get permanent posts approved. They may not be able to roll over your contract after three years but may have to advertise again if the job is continuing. One advantage is that when you are in you can apply for roles that are restricted to internal applicants only. In some institutes certain types of admin jobs have to be advertised internally first before being advertised externally.

Q2) It seems that there is a pension contribution of some kind, so that is good, but I would appreciate any pointers on what to look out for

You will have to pay a mandatory pension contribution including the pension levy so you need to factor this into your take home pay calculations. Amount depends on salary.

Q3) For FTC what are the normal vacation entitlements?

Same as for permanent staff at that grade.

Q4) Because it is a public service job am I likely to have to go through endless rounds of psych testing, IQ tests and all that jazz/

I've never seen these used by a third level institute but like I said I've sat on interview boards for 3.

What's the 3rd level institute you have the interview with?

mickomatic

Thanks for the reply.

It's DCU.
Another question I have is that the salary grade is listed with scale 1-8. I am earning what is point 7 already. Would I be forced onto point 1 or how do I best work out the best result?

AndrewJRenko

mickomatic wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

It's DCU.
Another question I have is that the salary grade is listed with scale 1-8. I am earning what is point 7 already. Would I be forced onto point 1 or how do I best work out the best result?

You will probably be forced onto point 1. Most public service bodies will recognise current salaries to current civil/public servants, but not to outsiders. Read the small print to check DCU's policy on this.

I wouldn't assume this will turn into a permanent post, so I would only proceed if you can live with the uncertainty of the FTC.

mickomatic

I would probably be willing to risk a 3 year FTC but point 1 on the salary scale might make it infeasible.

griffin100

The salary scale thing depends on the institutes policy. The will say Point 1, but they may take you at a higher point if you can show you are already on a similar salary and if your prospective unit head supports this. It will often depend on how much budget has been allocated for this role over the course of the three year contract - if they are budgeting for a point 1 entrant then that's what they'll offer. I have taken in people near the top of payscales over recent months (I'm not in DCU) as the competition for some skills from the private sector means that if I don't I wont get suitable people.