Following up on the Tús post I’ve been having a look at the companies who use the Work Placement Programme and the posts being suggested.

My attention had been drawn to a post created by TESCO for a town planner (h/t Allan Cavanagh) and approved by FAS for a graduate work placement. The money for this post is a social welfare payment, paid for by the Department of Social Protection. I know that jobs in planning are scarce but if TESCO need somebody to work in the area we all know they can afford to hire someone. Ireland is not known as Treasure Island in Tesco HQ for nothing, though the company do not reveal the extent of their Irish profits.

This is not a student work experience placement – this post is for a graduate where the advert states that skills are required and prior work experience to a so called work experience post being desirable!

Town Planning Assistant (WPP1) – Fas Work Programme
Employer: Tesco Ireland
Closing Date: 28th February 2011
Location: Dublin
Salary Range: €n/a
Employer’s Website:
Employer’s Email: www.tesco.ie

Job Description

Tesco Ireland – Head Office (Property Acquisition Department) seek suitable candidates for the position of Town Planning Assistant. At the end of the 9 month placement, the participant will have gained broad practical experience in some or all of the following areas: Monitoring and review of development plans and changes to planning law / policy; Liaising with other internal departments and external consultants; Database management; Tracking planning applications; Planning enforcement; Planning issues affecting retailers; General administrative experience.

Person specification: Graduate with a degree/masters in town planning. Work experience is desirable but not essential. Candidate should have good IT, administrative and communication skills, and be self motivated.

Please Note:

You must be registered with FAS and have checked your eligibility before you apply for this placement.

Your CV should be emailed to david.nevin@ie.tesco.com or posted to David Nevin, Tesco Ireland – Head Office, Gresham House, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.

Closing date for Cv’s is 28 February 2011.

If you look at the work placements offered through Fás at the moment you can see all sorts of job titles around the country in both public and private sectors.  No salaries are attached to these job titles but they all sound very grand for graduate posts with no pay :  Marketing MANAGER, Health and Safety Officer, Teachers, Project Officers in Third Level Colleges and as I feared – Social Care workers for people with Disabilities.

Surely companies who offer these placements should be investigated to see if they are able to pay salaries and not rely on free labour of graduates who are being supported on social welfare by the state?

From comments left on the blog and conversations on twitter I’ve heard that the Work placement programme is being  abused by companies who have let people go and take on the ‘freebies’ instead. The government know where staff are let go by companies through redundancy fund applications and indeed individual social welfare applications. Shouldn’t they check and only permit work placement posts to startups and not to companies who have recently let staff go or can well afford to pay staff in junior/graduate positions.  Maybe a job for the National Employment Rights Authority?

Yet it’s clear that people are so desperate for experience and a ‘foot up the ladder’ that they will apply for these posts while their peers have been let go and their new ’employers’ profit margins remain undisclosed and uninvestigated.

The same concerns are held on the new internship programme which seems to be a similar scheme with an added €50 for expenses.  These are not jobs, it’s work experience and should be described as such and management and other high falluting terms banned from being used.  Companies who can afford to pay staff should be told to pay salaries.  The Department of Social Protection should check the satisfaction and career progression of those on work placements and internships and prohibit companies taking part who abuse the schemes and those participating on them.