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What is FIT?
FIT (Fastrack to Information Technology) is a unique industry initiative involving major indigenous and international companies (AIB, Alchemy, AOL, Analog Devices, Apple, BT, Creative Labs, CSC, Danone, DELL, Dulux, Eircom, Halifax, HBOS, HP, IBM, ICT Ireland, Liberty, Microsoft, O2, Oracle, Pivotal, Sercom Solutions, Siemens, Skillsoft and Symantec) who are actively committed to the integration of marginalised job seekers into the workforce through the acquisition or marketable ICT skills.
Industry involved in the initiative view its role and strategy as being complementary to existing education and training while providing industry with a unique opportunity to support the effective progression of marginalised job seekers.
To this end all FIT Programmes, which have been developed by industry (currently 24 ICT curricula, covering technical skills and personal / professional development), are run in collaboration with existing education and training provision.
FIT provides ongoing support to the graduates of its programmes and views its primary objective as not just the securement of a job but the commencement of a career.
Target group
The FIT Initiative targets marginalised job seekers defined as: individuals on the live register, young early school-leavers (under 18), individuals living in the family home who do not qualify for Unemployment Benefit payments, individuals living in households where income is above the means test threshold of Unemployment Assistance, women working in the home for long periods wishing to return to employment, lone-parents, individuals on disability payments, migrant job seekers and other individuals that find themselves distant from the labour market.
In addition to our role of training for employment we are also an active promoter of IT literacy and digital inclusion. Over 2,500 people have participated in our digital inclusion initiative around the country and 2,000 people have attained our e-Cert and MY IT awards. These programmes, which engage a wider population, encourage and demonstrate the practical benefits of PCs in daily living; build confidence around training and ICTs and thereby encourage participants to progress into FIT ICT training for employment programmes or other educational programmes.
Key facts
- FIT is an industry led initiative, the Board of Directors comprise of senior executives from 15 of the top IT companies globally.
- FIT has the support of the Taoiseach and Government.
- FIT is a response to the IT skills shortage in industry.
- FIT targets the long-term unemployed as an additional recruitment stream.
- FIT iss a partnership between the IT industry, local communities (via LESNs/APCs), government agencies (FAS/VECs).
- FIT has designed a management structure involving key collaborators to implement the plan.
- FIT promotes the concept of job targeting and market-led training provision.
- FIT develops market-led IT curriculums to enable unemployed people leap-frog the skills barrier into sustainable employment.
- FIT promotes new standards of industry certification.
- FIT facilitates local development agencies such as APC / LESNs and Training Providers to understand the needs of the IT Industry and vice versa.
- FIT has demonstrated in its plan, savings to the exchequer of ten million pounds.
- FIT develops pro-active methods of recruitment and selection - using aptitude tests instead of formal education to determine capabilities.
- FIT promotes a professional standard or training provision that is person-centred and progressive.
Milestones