Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the training that has been put in place to upskill vulnerable workers in the construction sector to facilitate them accessing alternative employment in the event that they lose their jobs due to the decline in that sector; and the number of workers that have availed of such training to date. [25417/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to improving the skills levels of workers. The State's key providers of training continue to offer appropriate and relevant training programmes to all those in the workforce with a particular focus on the low skilled and workers employed in vulnerable employment.

FÁS as the National Training and Employment Authority, is currently reviewing the employment trends within the construction sector and the impact of its related training programmes. A FÁS Board committee has recently been established to oversee the development of a suitable plan for the construction sector that will be informed by projected future developments and how best to respond to them.

While there is now insufficient definitive and contemporary data available to FÁS on this specific issue, there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that there has been a recent increase in the number of redundancies in the construction sector. This is based on the number of job-seekers with a construction background who are presenting to FÁS Employment Services Offices, the number of clients who are making contact with the FÁS National Contact Centre regarding alternative job possibilities and the number of clients referred to FÁS by the Department of Social and Family Affairs under the National Employment Action Plan (NEAP).

FÁS provides a range of support services to people, including construction workers, who have been made redundant. The overall approach taken is to offer a tailored service as early as possible to the workers affected with a view to assisting them access alternative employment. Redundant workers may also avail of the Technical Employment Support Grant which provides a flexible fund to support the training and other employment related needs of clients where these are not immediately, conveniently or directly provided by FÁS itself.