Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 28 May 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Creating Policies that Work: Discussion with FIT

2:25 pm

Photo of Anthony LawlorAnthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have always been fascinated by this subject. I was at a European briefing in Copenhagen at which it was raised on a number of occasions. I learned that the likes of Germany, Austria and some of the Scandinavian countries had much more progressive apprenticeship schemes than we did. What ends up happening to the one in four who drops out of college in the first year? Have the delegates followed this up or just left it as a statistic? During my own university days at least 25% failed first year and we did not know where they went. It is an interesting concept.

We have a number of schemes, including JobBridge. How many companies in the IT sector are actively participating in that programme? The greater the participation, the more we can change the skill sets of individuals.

Will the delegates identify second level schools which might be classified as progressive in what they are trying to achieve through good computer science and technology course and which are geared up to recognise practical students who would fit into the type of programme about which we are talking? I have always found that industry drives where jobs are going to be created and where we should be picking things up. The delegates spoke about contact with third level institutions. How much contact have they had at second level? It is at that level that pupils make decisions. I have spoken to children in my local area and I am driving them towards the science subjects because Kerry Group has moved into my area. If pupils want to stay there, it means being able to get a job in that sector.

I want to comment on the adaptability of what we have in place for a changing economy. In my time to do the leaving certificate examination was great. Many children left school at junior certificate level and became apprentices. Senator Feargal Quinn has pointed out that it was not seen to be a progressive route as one was getting one's hands dirty. There was an element of snobbery about it. At the height of the boom, FÁS was a disaster. It was spending €1 billion on training when there was a 4% unemployment rate. Do the delegates believe we have something in the SOLAS model which will enable us to adapt to the rapid change in the economy? The economy has changed from what it was three or four years ago and will change again. The international economy is changing.

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