Mr. Peter Davitt:

The idea behind the IT associate professional concept is to have another vein of activity going on. We have spoken to the board companies within FIT and to affiliate companies and there is strong interest in exploring such an initiative as an added strand of skills development. Therefore, we are confident that, should we get this up and running effectively, we will be able to engage, progress and place 3,000 people through this programme in three years.

Deputies Lawlor and Connaughton made a good point about the VECs and FET provision. There are good examples of FET provision around the country with which we are familiar and on which we collaborate. There are good models of general provision. The VEC colleges and schools in general have limited resources but there are good examples both at second and third level.

Building on Mr. Ryan's comments, while our primary focus is on enabling the long-term unemployed to consider IT skills, we have felt a greater obligation to encourage more people to consider technology and the ICT sector as a potential future career initiative. We have started an initiative with Microsoft called Youth2Work under which we will try to encourage up to 10,000 people over the next three years to consider IT as a potential career employment opportunity. There are other interventions available.

Another element of this strategy, which we mentioned in our skills audit, is an improved joining of the dots. There are many examples of good initiatives but there could probably be more effective co-ordination and orchestration between them.

As Deputy Lawlor said, it is fundamental that we get the SOLAS and ETB model that is ultimately adopted right because it will determine our education and training provision for the next 50 years. It needs to be flexible and responsive to national as well as regional needs. For example, the skills requirements of the south east might be different from that of the north west. Ultimately, it has to be responsive to the needs of employers. As we adopt the SOLAS and ETB infrastructure, we need to put in place the correct infrastructure, which is responsive to the needs of industry and, equally important, the needs of learners.