The many thousands of employees and apprentices, who undergo FÁS training, will see their hard earned awards recognised within the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) thanks to a major agreement between the national training authority and the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC).

Integration of FÁS awards into the ten levels of the NFQ enables award holders to plan their lifelong education, up skilling and career progression all the way up the framework to postgraduate level.  The transparent nature of the NFQ allows people to compare and contrast the learning options available to them and make informed choices about their training and education progression, and it also simplifies the process of applying for a job or a course in further or higher education. FÁS award holders, for example, will be able to enrol in higher education and training courses and receive credits and exemptions for what they have previously learned on a FÁS course.

Speaking at the announcement event, held in Croke Park in April, Director General of FÁS Rody Molloy said: ‘This agreement with FETAC, in regard to our quality assurance systems, is a significant milestone for our organisation and our learners.  It enables us to provide higher quality, more innovative and flexible training programmes that fit into the national system of training and education qualifications.’