Lead kindly light

by planetparker

So FAS has now become Solus. I remember when FAS was launched; people said that what ANCO used to be called before it went bust. Before we all became green and environmentally aware we used to use Solus bulbs. This is relevant for the new organisation which I fear will inherit the culture of the old. How many Solus employees will it take to change a light bulb? At least a thousand; one to hold the bulb and 999 Solus officials to turn the room around, but we mustn’t forget the special, highly-paid consultants brought in at enormous cost from abroad to give their opinions on office lighting, as well as the cost of printing their report on the glossiest of paper. By this time though the money will have run out and so there won’t be any left for changing the bulb.

 FAS was charged with providing training that was supposed to lead to jobs. Unfortunately there was a mismatch between the courses and employment trends, so the courses were often irrelevant and useless. Certificates were sometimes not issued to those who had pursued the courses and the only people who seemed to secure jobs as a result of FAS’ activity were those employed already by FAS. And perhaps it is best to forget the way in which FAS was used as a private holiday club by a group of former directors, offering only first class flights and accommodation in five-star resorts.  FAS / Solus (whatever it is called) is big on intentions, but I somehow think the delivery will fall short of expectation.

 I was looking for an alternative name for the organisation. The closest I could come to was fearradh, which de Bhaldraithe’s dictionary says is the Irish for faeces.