FÁS Certificates presented to Craftspeople in the South East

16 October 2009

A presentation of Advanced Craft Certificates, to mark the successful completion of their apprenticeship training, was made to over 350 craftspeople from throughout the South East region by Mr Dara Calleary, TD, Minister for Labour Affairs at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, at a recent ceremony held in Waterford.

Speaking at the presentation, Minister Calleary drew particular attention to the calibre of the Irish Apprenticeship system which is recognised nationally and internationally. He added: “An example of the standards achieved by apprentices during their apprenticeship was the success obtained by the Irish Team at the World Skills Competition recently held in Calgary, Canada where the Irish team achieved Gold, Bronze and Medallions of Excellence awards. Indeed, within your own region, apprentice Bricklayer Paul Molloy from Wexford and apprentice Electrician David Gough also from Wexford, were both awarded Medallions of Excellence. This is a remarkable achievement and it proves beyond doubt and bears testimony that our Apprenticeship system and our apprentices are among the best in the world.” The World Skills competition is an international showcase for trades and was attended by over 900 international competitors competing for medals in 45 skill categories.

Highlighting the various initiatives aimed at assisting apprentices to continue their training, Mr Paul O’Toole, Director General of FÁS stated: “This Region has the highest number of apprenticeship registrations nationally thus far and the region has a placement of over 60 apprentices on the recently launched Redundant Apprentice Rotation Scheme. Under the PP5 Bridging programme allowing progression from Phase 4 to Phase 6, this region has 16 participants and the Phase 7 Equivalent Programme will assist apprentices in certain trades to qualify as a craftsperson.”

Continuing his address, Mr O’Toole acknowledged that the Irish economy has undergone significant change over the past 12 months and obtaining employment has become more difficult. He highlighted the various up-skilling initiatives available from FÁS and stressed the importance of apprentices to “…. avail of every training and development opportunity to advance your current technical skills and to expand the range and diversity of your skills to improve and advance your careers.”

In addition, Deputy Calleary advised graduates: “There are many opportunities and advice available to help you to continually update your skills through your Employers, Trade Unions, FÁS, the Department of Education and Science and private providers. Recently the Government announced a range of measures aimed at maintaining people in employment, re-skilling, and further education supports to maintain our ‘knowledge economy’, and the creation of sustainable and long-term employment opportunities. These initiatives are aimed at improving the skills and qualification levels across our labour force, so as to provide adequate support to help overcome the present challenge.”

Concluding the ceremony, Deputy Calleary congratulated the apprentices who received their Craft Certificates by saying: “Whatever direction you choose, the testimonial you receive today has both national and international recognition, an invaluable achievement.”

ENDS/LA344

For further information contact:

Margaret Lovatt, FÁS Services to Business / Dermod O’Byrne, FÁS Communications

Tel: 01 607 0500