I’ve written about FAS before and how the actions of management at the top impact what goes on the rest of the organisation. Lately I’ve been hearing more and more complaints from clients about FAS and the lack of customer service.
Here’s just one example. A construction worker realises last August that he needs to retrain. He visits FAS, deals with a very nice person who says, come back in two weeks and they’ll book him in to train as a heavy goods vehicle driver. So he goes back two weeks later, to a new person who contradicts what the first person says saying there’s a long waiting list and they’ll be in touch. Oh and he’s not guaranteed a place on the course, he has to do a selection test.
So in the meantime, this client moves house into cheaper accommodation as he’s been made redundant. Then he’s told he’ll have to re-register, come back in two weeks, then he’s told he does not have to re- register so this goes on and on and four months later he’s still waiting to receive any kind of training. So he decides to develop his computer skills. He goes back to FAS again who tell him if he signs up for this course, he’ll lose his place on the driving course because he can only be on the waiting list for one course at a time!
So seven months later he receives a letter inviting him for interview and threatening him with a welfare benefits review if he does not attend. Talk about loading on the stress to a man who already feels deeply ashamed as this is the first time he’s even been unemployed and he feels guilty about drawing the dole.
He must present at the interview, his driving theory test pass certificate for heavy vehicles to be considered for the course.
Unfortunately no one has previously told him about this requirement, so with less than a weeks notice, he tries to apply for the test. His local test centre has a six month waiting list. So he starts ringing all the test centres and eventually he gets a cancellation in a centre one hundred miles away. He passes the theory test and attends the interview and gets a place on the course. However no can tell him where the course is going to be held or when it is going to be held. So he continues to wait.
Organisations are not perfect, but I’m hearing so many stories like this about FAS it’s clear they are failing job seekers and not treating them with respect. Giving people this kind of run around is not good enough.
There’s plenty of other examples. Trainers not training on courses because they’re studying for their own exams or other personal tasks. Training days spent on “quality team bonding time” in Marley park.
At a very stressful time in their lives, unemployed workers are being let down. One client recently said to me “I’ll consider anything, but FAS, I’ve had enough of them”.
It’s not just individual lives they are messing about with though. The national skills strategy estimates that for a future successful economy we will need to up skill, only 7% of the workforce should be trained to Junior Certificate level. Currently nearly 28% of our workforce are at Junior Certificate level, so there is a big challenge here to up skill. We need a higher level of skill in our workforce if employers are to fill the vacancies in the future.
So if you have to use FAS training services, save your self some hassle, make sure you ask the following questions at the very first interview for further training
1. Has a definite date for this course being set?
2. Where is the venue for this course?
3. Is there a waiting list for this course?
4. If yes, how long before you are likely to be called?
5. Are there any other options for you while you are waiting?
6. Is the course being held subject to enough participants?
7. If yes, how many participants are currently booked in?
8. Are there are advance requirements for the course? e.g present driving theory test?
9. What is the selection criteria for this course?, interview, psychometrics, etc
10. Is there any accreditation for this course –FETAC etc
11. Are there any follow on courses necessary to become properly skilled- e.g. many of the computer courses require several modules to get the ECDL qualification. One client is still waiting 2 months later to attend his 2nd module.
If your FAS adviser does not have the answers to these questions, say you’ll wait while they get the answers, or else make a specific appointment to see them personally another day. Make sure they know you are coming back to see them and no one else, as this encourages them to get the answers you need.
The cliché “Information is power” still holds. If you know you’re going to be waiting six months before you get anything, then at least you can make some decisions, rather than hoping that every day you’ll hear some thing about your course as my poor client did.
I’ll let you know whether he ever gets on to the course.
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