Dublin Private Sector Site

The main focus of the Private Sector Site is to develop and demonstrate new models and policies which will be effective in bringing about structural change in training, recruitment, diversity and human resource management in the private sector. This will involve opening up opportunities for access, progression and career development for all, in particular for those currently excluded or discriminated against and to promote lifelong learning among the organisations involved in this Site.

The Site is focusing on the implementation, for the first time in the prvate sector in Ireland, of two Job Rotation programmes (common on the EU mainland) and the development of new access routes to third level education for graduates of the Fastrack into Technology (FIT) Programme.

Partners Involved
Partners involved in this site include:

• Northside Partnership
• FÁS
• Small Firms Association
• Dublin City University
• Clondalkin Partnership
• Rural Dublin LEADER Company
• Blanchardstown Partnership
• Co-operation Fingal
• National Training and Development Institute (NTDI)
• Northside Business Network
• Dept. of Social and Family Affairs
• FIT Ltd.
• SIPTU

Desired Outputs
The Dublin Private Sector Site hopes to have

• Developed and demonstrated new models/mechanisms which support open human resource development and progression (Job Rotation & FIT);
• Piloted Job Rotation with manufacturing and/or distribution companies, located in North Dublin to see how its ideas work in practice with Irish private sector companies;
• Identified and effected policy change in human resource practices and policies in the Job Rotation companies and other private sector organisations involved in this Site;
• Worked with DCU to understand if it is possible for graduates of the FIT programme, who subsequently found employment but found their progression options limited, can find a way to return to education and gain a third-level educational qualification;
• Delivered diversity and equality awareness training in the workplace.

Achievements to Date
As of June 2004, the Private Sector Site had:

• Developed and piloted an Irish model of JobRotation in two private sector companies Ð Keelings Distribution Ltd. and FreshWays (Kerry Group). A relatively new concept, these were the first such programmes to be piloted in the private sector in Ireland. As a result of both JobRotations, 16 unemployed people were given job placements, 10 of these were offered full-time employment at the end of the Rotations, and 40 existing company staff were up-skilled.
  On the basis of the success rate of these two pilots, Equal at Work believes that the JobRotation model has significant potential in Ireland. A submission has been made to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment seeking funding to carry out further pilots and identify relevant learning which could be mainstreamed into national labour market policy.
• Examined progression routes for Fastrack into Technology (FIT) graduates to third level qualifications. A survey of FIT graduates was carried out in Spring 2003 regarding what type of progression options they would favour. The findings of the survey took the project by surprise. They indicated that while FIT graduates wanted progression options, they did not necessarily want a third level qualification. It therefore became necessary to broaden the focus of this action.
  In this context, a proposal was submitted, as part of a transnational project (the ICT Career Compass Programme), under the EU Leonardo da Vinci Programme and in Autumn 2003, funding to the value of Û480,000 was provided to this project to develop an access programme to higher education and to other national certification options, to develop an ICT Career Guidance Manual for trainers and a benchmarking guide of ICT industry certifications. This Leonarda da Vinci programme continues until Autumn 2005. Further information on this project can be obtained from George Ryan, FIT.
• Participated in the Equality & Diversity Inter-Site Working Group which was responsible for developing the training module, ÔStrengthening your BusinessÕ (see Publications or Promoting Equality & Diversity within the Workplace)

For further information on the work of this Site, contact Margaret Walsh, Site Co-ordinator at: 01 – 848 5630