The director general of FÁS has told RTÉ he believes the agency will emerge as a refocussed skills agency at the end of a strategic review, which he hinted could include a name change.
Paul O'Toole said a 'comprehensive' set of changes are already in place at the state training authority. He added that staff at the agency are doing their very best for the large number of people now out of work.
The board of FÁS meet in Waterford tonight and tomorrow. Mr O'Toole said that three main items will dominate the agenda at these meetings - the organisation's current performance, issues surrounding contracted training and also the strategy for the future of its operations.
On the future of its operations, he said that FÁS hoped to report back to Government by early October and that he believed the name of the agency will 'come under scrutiny' during this process.
He also apologised to people who had not received certificates after completing courses and said that a review of their training had been undertaken.
'We have identified some issues and are working our way through them. We regret that people have had their certification delayed,' he said. He said the issue would 'be resolved as soon as possible'.
