Kissane, C: Traineeship in Ireland-Who does it serve?

Traineeship is a training policy initiative by the Irish government targeting young job seekers. It was modelled on similar programmes internationally and had its basis in the Partnership agreements which have underpinned Irish government policy since 1987. At its core partnership is about balancing competing agendas in an effort to reach consensus about the way forward. However, all stakeholders do not have equal power and therefore do not have equal levels of influence. This book looks at how the partnership model worked in practice at a policy and practical level in terms of the traineeship initiative. It focuses particularly on how it served the needs of those who had least power, but most at stake, the trainees. It reveals how the partnership ideal did not deliver in practice for these young people and explores how the process could have been changed to address this weakness. The book is a doctoral thesis and should be of particular interest to people working. or studying. in the areas of education, policy analysis, critical theory and partnership. It should also be of interest to doctoral students generally.