Vol. 487 No. 1
79 Mr. Gormley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of community youth training workshops that have been established in the country; the length of time these workshops have been in operation; whether any workshops have ceased operations; and the employment status of workshop employees relating to entitlement to public service severance payments. [3646/98]
A total of 47 community training workshops have been established of which 45 are being funded by FÁS. Two others have ceased to operate as CTWs and their role, functions etc. have been taken over by the VEC in each case.
Community training workshops have been in operation since 1977 when FÁS, then AnCO funded a community group in Dublin's inner city to provide training for young unemployed persons in the city who were not involved in the education or training system. During the early 1980s the number of community training workshops was expanded as a response to the increasing difficulties which young persons who left school without any qualifications were experiencing, in relation to the labour market and in transition to adult living. Progressively, and as local community groups identified local need, the number, geographical spread, and capacity of community training workshops was expanded and by 1988 a total of 47 were in operation throughout the country.
Staff working in community training workshops are employees of the boards of management who operate these workshops. Each workshop is an autonomous unit, very much locally based and sometimes involved in the areas of local development and receives an annual grant from FÁS in respect of the community training workshop activity. The question of severance pay is a matter for each community training workshop.
