In a written answer to a question about the use of social media in highlighting training opporutnities from Dominic Hannigan, Ciaran Cannon replied that

I believe that, in general, education and training providers should bear in mind the potential for using, where feasible, social media to assist job seekers and those seeking further training and education opportunities.

For example, FÁS has recently launched a “Jobseekers App” that provides access to the FÁS Jobs Ireland website where jobseekers can find information on job vacancies, on JobBridge internship and Work Placement Programme (WPP) opportunities as well as on Community Employment vacancies.

FÁS has a number of Facebook pages and Twitter accounts relating to FÁS, JobBridge, the Work Placement Programme and Screen Training Ireland. These pages are used to provide information and updates on new programmes and courses, upcoming events and press releases etc.

But the Jobbridge twitter account has not tweeted any internship openings since September 28.  And their facebook page has not been used since July.  There is a lot of talk about JobBridge online though but it’s not FAS/National Internship Service who are conducting the conversation.

Screen Training Ireland has very few followers but has a very interesting output of items of interest to those who want to work in that particular industry. The Work Placement Programme (unpaid, no extra €50) tweets regularly.

Also of note on the subject of internships is legal advice emerging from the UK on unpaid internships and the breaches of National Minimum Wage legislation which are being committed.  UK Government agencies promote internships to jobseekers however several interns have taken cases to employment tribunals and won damages against employers for wages they should have received.

Meanwhile the Department of Social Protection have advertised this week for a consultancy to evaluate the JobBridge National Internship Scheme.  A social research graduate emailed me yesterday about her experience with the programme and commented with more than a degree of irony that ‘the only people being paid on this are those who will evaluate it.’