Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 4 July 2013

Public Accounts Committee

2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 17 - European Globalisation Adjustment Fund
FÁS Financial Statements 2012
National Training Fund

12:40 pm

Mr. Paul O'Toole:

We would have had a bank of 300 to 400 courses. A lot of those are inactive. We have looked at changing the mix. Traditionally, FÁS was known for providing construction-related courses, and we still do a small proportion of those. There are still 100,000 people employed in construction, notwithstanding the challenges of the sector. However, we have moved into areas we believe are more relevant to current labour market conditions and, as I said, are helping people to access service level jobs. ICT, for example, is topical and a lot of the demand there is at the top end of the scale. This year, or maybe last year, we put in place 6,000 places at entry and intermediate level for ICT skills that are relevant to the ICT industry. There is a huge demand from learners, unemployed people, for programmes which help them in digital literacy and we are satisfying that demand, in conjunction with the Department of Social Protection.

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