John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I was at the launch of the skills audit in IBM. Many CEOs of the Education and Training Boards, ETBs, were there. What has been the momentum since then? Have the ETBs begun to not only listen but to act on some of the points made in the skills audit? Have they started chopping and changing what they do in order to provide courses that address the issues raised in the ICT skills audit?

I welcome what Mr. Davitt had to say on requiring courses to be employment-proofed. In the very early days, when we came into Government, there was a carryover. Some courses were being offered simply because they were the courses that were always offered. No one was questioning their outcomes or the employability of someone who had completed a particular course. Much has changed since then. However, the committee should seek to ensure the relevant Departments would require employment-proofing of courses and other projections for the future.

People look at the issue of career guidance from many different aspects. From the secondary school point of view, a career guidance-counselling model operates at the moment. Recently, many highly qualified people, who do the best they can, have entered the career guidance-counselling profession. We had a problem a few years ago in the banking sector. The people responsible for signing off on loan approval did not understand the tech sector. Often, people with ideas - potential SMEs - were not able to get loans because of a misunderstanding of the tech sector and the type of business a person was trying to put forward. Looking at the bigger picture, is that the case in career guidance at the moment? Is there an absence, across the board, of a real understanding of the variety of avenues and types of jobs and professions available? Are we ensuring young people get the best outcomes when they receive career guidance - not the counselling part - in school? My understanding is that this may not be the case. That is through no fault of theirs. Do we need to investigate that a bit more?