About Us

home » About Us » News

Press Releases

  • Irish students globally recognised at City & Guilds Medals for Excellence Awards 2013
  • Five inspirational people spanning Munster, Connacht, Leinster and Ulster were recently recognised at an international level at the prestigious City & Guilds Medals for Excellence Awards 2013. The five winners were presented with their awards by the Minister for Training and Skills, Ciarán Cannon, TD, at a gala ceremony held at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.
  • May, 2013
  • Service Plan for FÁS Training Provision 2013
  • FÁS expects to train in the region of 80,000 individuals in 2013, of which 72,000+ will be unemployed persons and almost all of the remainder will be apprentices. The primary focus of FÁS training is on the preparation of individuals for working life. More specifically, the focus is on the development of the preparatory, occupation-specific technical and interpersonal skills and competencies or the progression to further/higher education and training in order to meet their career and employment aspirations.
  • March, 2013
  • Expert Group Highlights Jobs Market Opportunities
    - Launch of Vacancy Overview 2012 -
  • The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs today (Tuesday, 26 February) published its third Vacancy Overview report, which outlines the areas where job vacancies arose during 2012. Through an analysis of almost 100,000 vacancies (from two sources – Department of Social Protection/FÁS Jobs Ireland and IrishJobs.ie), the Vacancy Overview shows that vacancies continue to exist for most occupations with a strong demand for those with work experience, third level qualifications and/or foreign language skills.
  • February, 2013
  • MOMENTUM PROGRAMME OFFERS 6,500 TRAINING AND EDUCATION PLACES FOR JOBSEEKERS.
  • Today (18th December, 2012), An Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore TD, together with the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD, and the Minister of State for Training and Skills, Ciarán Cannon TD, announced an innovative Government initiative which will provide free education and training projects for up to 6,500 long-term jobseekers.

    This initiative, MOMENTUM, will assist 6,500 long term unemployed jobseekers to gain in-demand skills and to access work in sectors of the economy where there are job opportunities. The programmes will include on-the job training in the form of work experience modules as well as the development of the workplace skills required to obtain and retain employment.

    36 education and training providers from both the private and public sector will be offering 62 individual MOMENTUM programmes in 87 locations across the country. These projects will be in the expanding employment areas of ICT, digital media, healthcare and social services, the green economy, food processing and sales and marketing.

    Specific projects will also be available for those under 25 to assist them to enter or return to employment including, ‘Train To Work Opportunities’, ‘Green Pathways’ and a Graduate Activation Programme.

    MOMENTUM is an outcomes-based model of education and training that sees best international practice adapted to an Irish context. The courses are tailored to both the needs of the long-term job-seeker, but also employers who are experiencing skills shortages.

    Courses are free, full and part-time and are aligned to levels 3 to 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) or to an industry required certification within the sector. The projects range in duration from 11 weeks – 45 weeks.

    An Tánaiste said: “The Government’s priority is to get our people back to work. We are spending more than €20 million in order to assist thousands of long-term jobseekers in getting new skills and returning to employment in areas where there are currently opportunities.”

    Announcing the 6,500 places today, Minister Quinn said “We all know that budgets are tight, in households and in the Government Departments. But, we are committed to ensuring that our limited resources are targeted and allow unemployed people to access high quality and relevant education and training. The MOMENTUM model, which sees skills provision married with on the job experience, is a significant innovation in how we spend public money on further education and training.”

    Minister Cannon said, “Momentum is part of the major reform of the further education and training sector. I am spearheading the creation of Solas and it will facilitate a coherent integrated strategic national response across the further education and training sectors.”

    Speaking at Windmill Lane Recording Studios where the launch took place, Paul O’Toole, Director General, FÁS said “This programme provides a real opportunity to long term jobseekers to develop the skills that employers are looking for. We believe that the training, education and real experience provided through the projects will significantly enhance participants’ capacity to compete for jobs”.

    MOMENTUM is administered by FÁS and funded by the Department of Education & Skills through the ESF supported Labour Market Education & Training Fund (LMETF). The payment system to providers is outcomes based with part payment reserved for key stages of the programme, including challenging certification, progression and employment outcomes at the end of the programme.

    Further information on MOMENTUM, its projects and providers and eligibility criteria can be found on the website: www.momentumskills.ie or from any Employment Services Office.

  • Dec, 2012
  • Labour Market Education & Training Fund (LMETF)
    Extension of proposal deadline and up-to-date pre-qualified contractors list
  • In May 2012, FÁS called for expressions of interest from Education and Training Providers to apply for inclusion on a pre-qualified LMETF panel.

    Pre-qualified panel members have now been invited to bring forward proposals for the provision of innovative programmes in support of long term unemployed learners.  If approved, these programmes will be allocated LMETF funding

    The closing date for receipt of proposals from pre-qualified contractors has now been extended to 12.00 noon on Friday 7th September, 2012.

    Other interested parties may wish to contribute to proposals or alternatively to partner or collaborate with contractors who are pre-qualified.  These parties should contact the pre-qualified contractors directly.  To facilitate this, an updated list (as of 30th August, 2012) of pre-qualified providers who are willing to consider joint partnership proposals is available to download here. This list will be further updated as necessary.
  • July, 2012
  • Galway Employment and Advice Fair
    29th & 30th June 2012

  • Have fun at the Festival but don’t forget to check out the
     Employment and Advice Fair 

    Burton: Over 300 jobs available as well as support and advice for jobseekers 

    VOLVO GLOBAL VILLAGE, SOUTH PARK, GALWAY 
     29th & 30th June 2012 




  • June 2012
  • Service Plan for FÁS Training Provision 2012
  • FÁS has been requested by the Department of Education and Skills to provide training for 81,500 unemployed persons in 2012 in addition to organising and controlling the FÁS Apprenticeship Programme and initiating and managing a new Labour Market Education and Training Fund.

  • March 2012
  • Expert Group Highlights Jobs Market Opportunities
  • The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs today (28th February, 2012) published its second “Vacancy Overview” report, which outlines the areas where job vacancies arose during 2011. The report shows that the trend in demand continues to be for those with work experience, third level qualifications and/or foreign language skills. The report also highlights vacancies in occupations that are proving difficult to fill with suitably qualified and/or experienced staff, which includes ICT professionals, financial experts, engineering experts and healthcare professionals.
  • February, 2012
  • Minister Quinn congratulates WorldSkills Winners
  • The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD congratulated the Irish Competitors on their success at the WorldSkills Competition in London. The 11-strong Irish team won three Gold Medals and five Medallions of Excellence. 

    The WorldSkills competition recognises excellence in traditional apprenticeship skills and also high-technology skills such as electronics and service skill areas like cooking and beauty therapy. 
  • October, 2011
  • Minister Burton publishes plan for development & implementation of a new National Employment and Entitlements Service (NEES)
  • The Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton T.D. today (3rd August, 2011) published the plan for the development and implementation of a new National Employment and Entitlements Service (NEES), as provided for in the Programme for Government. The objective is to integrate the provision of employment services and benefit payment services within the Department and in so doing to ensure that the payment of income supports to people who do not have a job is directly linked to the equally, if not more important, task of supporting people in their pursuit of employment and related opportunities and improving their life chances.
  • August, 2011
  • Expert Group Publishes Monitoring Ireland's Skills Supply Report
  • The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) today published its annual report on the supply of skills to the Irish labour market. The report, 'Monitoring Ireland's Skills Supply: Trends in Education and Training Outputs', examines the numbers of students entering and leaving the education/training system in Ireland and reports on:
     The demographic profile of the school age population
     Junior and leaving cert trends
     Further education and training awards
     Higher education trends
     Where graduates go
     Adult lifelong learning participants.
  • August, 2011
NDP Logo
transforming Ireland
Listen to this website with Browsealoud		 European Social Fund
Investing in your Future         
Some programmes are co-funded by the ESF www.esf.ie