The majority of asylum-seekers attending a new FAS unit set up to help them find work are job-ready, according to its director.
Mr Frank Donnelly said about 35 of the first group of 100 people to attend the asylum-seekers' unit had found a job within weeks.
They include accountants, computer programmers, welders, book-keepers, warehouse workers and hospitality industry staff.
Mr Donnelly said he was very pleasantly surprised by the skills levels of job-seekers attending the unit in Tallaght since it opened last month, and he expected employers would be as well.
The unit tests asylum-seekers who are eligible to work for competence in the English language, as well as technical, computer and customer service skills. Sophisticated computer programmes are used to assess the job-seekers' skills, and they are trained in job search techniques.
"We can do up to 300 competency tests on computers on which they can demonstrate their skills and then we put together a portfolio for employers with an indication of English-language competencies," said Mr Donnelly. "We will match people to their career aspirations and skills. It's not a panacea for cheap labour, and most people are getting jobs with pay scales way above the minimum wage."
Mr Donnelly said at least six out of 10 asylum-seekers attending the unit were job-ready. He said: "They are delighted with the training because they were treated as illegals up to this and prevented from working.
"The best way of integrating anyone into a society is to give them a job, and they are very excited about the prospect of working."
Mr Donnelly said employee demand had been strong, with daily phone calls from businesses looking for staff.
Mr Wanis Salime, an Algerian asylum-seeker who has found a job assembling kitchens and bedroom furniture, said he was very pleased to be financially self-sufficient at last.
Mr Salime (22) said he had been looking unsuccessfully for work for six months before getting a job with the Ashgrove Panelling Centre in Dun Laoghaire after attending the FAS unit. He is also taking night classes to improve his English.
"It's important for me to be able to work for myself and earn my own money instead of signing on for social welfare," he said.
According to Mr Donnelly between 80 and 85 per cent of job seekers attending the unit have "functional-to-good" English, while the remaining 15 to 20 per cent would have difficulties because of their poor English.
Those with insufficient English are referred to special job clubs to gain basic language skills. The FAS unit will open a second branch in Blanchardstown later this month. All asylum-seekers eligible to work will be referred there.