IT'S like being in a car where you don't know the driver but you need this car." This is how Peter McCabe, director of business development with the Construction Industry Federation, describes the implementation of standards based apprenticeship. It's probably a good model, he says, but the management and organisation and FAS's performance leave much to be desired.

"These are our employees but the consultative process is not in our control. We see this type of training being handled differently in the future," he says. "We're looking for a bigger role for employers. Management and unions can handle this training without all the bureaucracy." McCabe believes that FAS has too much to do with its other programmes to continue handling apprenticeships.

The major problems at present are overall control, flexibility and cost. Over a four year period 20 per cent of the time is spent on off the job training, he points out, with the remaining 80 per cent carried out by the employers with no subvention.

The construction industry should employ 3,000 apprentices next year despite the system, says McCabe. "There is no doubt that, if the system doesn't sort itself out, it will be difficult to persuade employers to take on apprentices. In the long term industry may have to come up with a new model if FAS doesn't sort out the problems."

Joe Bernie, head of the school of construction trades in DIT Bolton, says that employers are insufficiently committed to training. "I don't think it's good enough to say there should be an adequate supply of craftspeople if they won't take on enough people."

Brian Geoghegan, director of economic affairs, research and information with IBEC, says that the new system is a considerable improvement but there are issues around whether apprenticeship in the classical sense is what is required at the moment. IBEC is also arguing for an employer led approach to training.

Pat Delaney, assistant director of the Small Firms Association, says that FAS concentrates primarily on social employment schemes. He would like to see greater emphasis on those in work. Advocating an employer led approach, he says that the SFA has been waiting for almost three years for the promised White Paper on training. It's understood that the White Paper contains proposals to the break up FAS.

John McCann, personnel manager with Mercury Engineering, one of the largest employers of electrical apprentices, explains that the old apprenticeship worked well with conscientious employers.

"Unfortunately a proportion of apprentices were never given the opportunity to attend college or to learn the full range of a trade," he says. "This caused a wide disparity in the skills level of craftspeople, depending on where they served their apprentices hips."

In addition the curriculum of many of the trades had not been kept up to date, in particular crafts where technology was changing, says McCann. "So, there was clearly a demand for a new approach to address these and other problems." The new system introduced by FAS makes the content of the apprenticeship compulsory and has focused on the standards that all apprentices must achieve.

THE reduced first off the job phase is considerably shorter than the previous off the job period which many employers considered too long, he says. On the demise of day release, he says that logistically the new curricula could not be covered by this process and that day release is somewhat fragmented and attendances can be poor.

But, he says, the new system has not been without problems. "There are industrial relations difficulties within FAS at present - there have been delays for some employers getting their apprentices into phase two in FAS training centres." However, it's early days yet, he adds, and it will take time for it to bed down.

Nearly 2,000 FAS employees will ballot today and tomorrow on a pay and conditions offer.

ALL is not well in the land of the new standards based apprenticeship. The change over from the old time served apprenticeship has been far from smooth and administrative problems continue to dog the system. The 7.834 apprentices registered for the new system are facing difficulties ranging over curricula, assessment repeat examinations, timetabling and financing. However, the new apprenticeship is at a very early stage so a certain amount of teething problems would have to be expected.

Under the old system, education and the achievement of standards were not mandatory, although a large proportion of apprentices in fact attended FAS centres and third level colleges and sat the Department of Education's Junior and Senior trade certs. However, there were people who attained craftsperson status purely on the basis of time served. The new system makes education mandatory - all apprentices must attain a certain standard to qualify for the national crafts certificate.

Unfortunately, it's difficult to escape the conclusion that the more progressive aspects of the new programme are being drowned in a sea of administrative problems. The social partners were agreed on the need for a new standards based apprenticeship, but it seems that the detail is causing problems.

One lecturer said that these difficulties are typified by the repeat examinations where it is cot uncommon for a student to be given the same exam paper he (fewer than one per cent of apprentices Are female) had earlier failed. FAS, the body with responsibility for apprenticeships, admits that this has happened in certain cases but Donal Kerr, manager of certification and standards with FAS, says that banks of theory papers will be built up so that different papers will be available in the future.

Ironically, in a system designed to raise standards, says TUI president Alice Prendergast, teachers are complaining of falling standards. Most of the curricula are fine, she says, but they are not deliverable within the timescale.

It's a case of reducing the content of the curricula or increasing the timescale but, says Prendergast, it's generally agreed that the timescales are based on European funding so very little can be done there. And reducing the curricula means lowering the standards.

Micheal Moffat, acting head of mechanical trades in Sligo RTC, says that under the old system tool making Apprentices spent 35 weeks with FAS and 33 weeks in third level education. Now, they spend 22 weeks with FAS and 22 weeks with the colleges, he says.

EMPLOYERS in the tool making business traditionally recognised the importance of education and that 100 per cent of apprentices did the Junior and Senior trades certificates. "We had a standards based system with very high standards," he says.

The TUI recently commissioned a report into the new apprenticeship system. It concluded that it was obvious that "until the assessment, testing, certification and curricula are agreed nationally between FAS and the education establishments, the goals set out in the change from time served apprenticeship to standards based apprenticeship probably won't be achieved."

However, FAS points out that the curricula were drawn up by teams which were representative of the employers, trade unions, FAS and Government departments. John Lawlor, assistant head of engineering trades in DIT Bolton Street, notes that a lot of good modules are being incorporated which were not included in the old syllabus.

Complaints have been made about the quality of the first period of off the job training which is provided by FAS. Third level colleges, which provide the subsequent off the job training, say that the apprentices are not up to speed. However, Donal Kerr strongly denies this. He says that students must pass their assessments in phase two to continue on and that the whole curriculum is integrated.

There are also problems with the off the job monitoring, according to the TUI president. FAS would need to double the manpower to complete these, claims Prendergast.

Concerns are expressed in the TUI report about the high pass marks required for the practical and theoretical exams. However Kerr says that the pass mark of 70 per cent in the theory papers is justified. This mark ensures that students have a thorough understanding of the theory - it is also related to the fact that a short answer approach is taken.

He also defends the practical requirements. "We have identified the essential requirements of a skill and they must be able to perform to those requirements," says Kerr. "Would you want your car 50 per cent serviced or 100 per cent serviced," he asked.

The report also states that the methods of assessment prescribed in FAS manuals are not compatible with the methods currently used by colleges. Kerr points out that the manuals are statutory, compiled by representatives of the social partners with teachers as much involved as FAS - they are not FAS manuals. He says that it's a new system with a new method of assessment. The new testing is designed to ensure high standards. "It's our mission to raise standards," he says.

The number of apprentices registering with FAS is increasing but this is not being reflected in third level colleges where classrooms sit empty awaiting their predicted cohort of students. In one college a class simply failed to appear as scheduled while in another college six out of 14 students turned up.

Alice Prendergast says that the number of apprentices filtering through to third level is disappointing. The space allocation is dwindling as classrooms and labs are earmarked for other purposes, she says. There are also problems with timetabling lecturers.

BRENDAN McCREA FAS manager of the standards based apprenticeship, says that there have been some "hiccups" with persuading employers to release apprentices but FAS is placing a lot of emphasis on follow on and there has been an improvement in the past few months.

However, Peter McCabe, director of business development with the Construction Industry Federation, says that companies taking on apprentices don't know what the schedule will be for the four years. They don't know when their apprentices will be going to FAS or to the colleges. Companies are getting three weeks notice to send people out for six months, he says.

Another shadow over the new apprenticeship scheme is its financing. A levy was to have been collected from employers in the construction, engineering, printing and paper sectors to fund off the job training. However, only 50 per cent of the £3.6 million has been collected so far.

McCrea says that FAS is concerned that the Revenue Commissioners, who are responsible for collecting the levy, find it difficult to identify who has paid the levy.

The old and the new systems of apprenticeship are currently running side by side with the old system being phased out. Some 12,610 apprentices are registered this month - of these 7,834 are pursuing the new standards based system and 4,776 are completing the old time served apprenticeship. All new apprentices follow the standards based system.

IT'S difficult to compare the outcome of the two systems yet, says Alice Prendergast. Ireland has traditionally done very well in the skills Olympics and, she says. The apprentices performance in two years' time will be a useful yardstick.

John Twohig, head of welding and metal fabrication in Cork RTC, sums it up: "The potential is there in the new scheme to continue the high standards of Irish tradespeople. This will happen only if a proper process of testing and certification is put in place. It's on this that the system will stand or fall."

John Lawlor of DIT Bolton Street is optimistic. He is confident that, with the ongoing interaction between education and FAS, these problems will be addressed.

Joe Bernie, head of the school of construction trades in DIT Bolton Street is also sanguine - he says that Education and Enterprise and Employment have been working pretty hard over the past two years and that things are coming together.