David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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95. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 159 of 10 September 2020, his plans for the further development and expansion of local training initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31344/20]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Local Training Initiatives (LTIs) are training and work experience programmes carried out in partnership with community and voluntary organisations. They provide a basis for the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) to contract with community bodies to provide a service initiative in a locality where there are identified community needs. Training provision is intended to be sufficiently flexible to address the identified needs and is typically six to twelve months in duration. My Department is committed to the continuing development of LTIs and the important services that they provide to learners within communities.

All Further Education and Training (FET) provision will be considered in line with the Future FET Strategy: Transforming Learning covering the period 2020-2024. The ambitious vision for FET set out in the Strategy recognises the need for FET to ensure that it can meet the needs of the future world and the evolving needs of economy and society, and that FET must simplify its structure and learning pathways, facilitate easier access, ensure a more consistent learner experience and build a more powerful identity within communities and potential learners. All provision will be reviewed by SOLAS with the broader FET sector in this context.

Strategic performance agreements between SOLAS and the ETBs set out the parameters and the current targets and deliverables for 2018-2020. These agreements will be reviewed and put in place for the next three year period. The contribution of LTIs will be important in achieving these targets and in delivering for learners and communities.