Controversy continues to dog the State training agency FAS and the storm spread to Waterford this week when it emerged that students at a local centre carried out construction work on a tutor’s property as part of their course.
And an investigation into the matter is understood to have identified inappropriate spending, poor control of purchasing and procurement and poor record keeping at the Waterford Youth Training and Education Centre (WYTEC), at Ballinaneeshagh which FAS provided €863,000 in funding to this year.
Complaints by two former tutors regarding the running of WYTEC led to the launch of the investigation. A spokesperson for FAS said issues of concern regarding WYTEC were brought to their attention in early 2009 and they instigated a monitoring review of the activities of the centre. The report apparently found that a shed on the property of a tutor was worked on as part of the construction course, with roof trusses, a wall and a unit for a toilet partially built and some plaster work completed. The reason given for this practice was a shortage of facilities on the grounds of the training centre itself and the work was carried out in late 2007 and 2008. However it was found that no training syllabus was prepared and no objective assessments of the training carried out.
This report also identified inappropriate spending, poor control of purchasing and procurement and poor record keeping and made a number of recommendations which, a spokesperson for FAS said, were ‘integral to the operation of the Centre’. However it is understood that no disciplinary action has been taken against any training staff
The spokesperson said FAS was currently working with WYTEC’s Board of Management to implement these recommendations, while the findings of an independent external consultant engaged by WYTEC’s Board of Management were broadly consistent with these.
The FAS spokesperson confirmed that parties within WYTEC had commenced legal correspondence in relation to the matter and declined to comment further.
