Mr. Peter Baldwin:

My colleagues and I from the Department of Education and Skills thank the committee for the opportunity to be here this morning - along with representatives of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and our colleagues from Northern Ireland - to contribute to a discussion concerning the prevention of youth unemployment and the promotion of job creation. These are important issues of shared concern North and South and, in this regard, we very much welcome our continuing engagement with our colleagues in Northern Ireland.

In the first instance, the Department of Education and Skills is of the view that keeping our young people at school for as long as possible, so that they can complete their second-level education, plays a vital role in reducing youth unemployment. In Ireland in the last quarter of 2014, the unemployment rate for people with lower secondary or less education was 18%, whereas it was 12% for those with higher secondary or further education and training, and 6% for those with higher education. There has been a significant reduction in the proportion of early school leavers in Ireland, reducing overall from 13.1% in 2004 to the current 6.9%, which is well below the EU average of 11.3% and the EU 2020 target of below 10%.

Those young people who leave school early need access to good second-chance education and training. All young people who find themselves unemployed need access to good education and training options. Over the course of recent years, a programme of system-wide reform has been delivered in the further education and training, or FET, sector. SOLAS, the new Further Education and Training Authority, now has responsibility for the strategic co-ordination and funding of the FET sector. The first task for SOLAS was the development of a national five-year strategy for the sector which sets out a vision to provide world-class education and training, serving the needs of jobseekers, employers and the economy as a whole. One of the focuses of the strategy, published in 2014, is to improve the employment outcomes for those completing FET programmes, including early school leavers and young jobseekers. We work closely with our colleagues in the Department of Social Protection to plan programmes for unemployed people in a way that targets sectors where jobs are available.

Our higher education system continues to make an important contribution in this area, particularly through the Springboard programme. Springboard Plus has so far enabled over 21,000 unemployed and previously self-employed people to upskill or reskill in areas of identified skills need. In 2015, we will provide a further 9,000 places on 285 courses, in 42 colleges throughout the country. Courses will be delivered in areas such as ICT, high-end manufacturing, international financial services, skills to trade internationally and entrepreneurial or business start-up skills. The Springboard initiative has brought about a culture change within the higher education system, bringing an enhanced and productive industry focus to the design and delivery of courses. The strong engagement from employers in the development and selection of courses has been critical to the success of the programme.

Employer engagement has also been a feature in developing our apprenticeship system. Major developments in the area of apprenticeships have taken place recently, including a review of the Irish apprenticeship system and the establishment of the new Apprenticeship Council of Ireland. Following a call by the council for proposals for new apprenticeships, a decision has been taken to approve the development of 25 new apprenticeship programmes in areas such as-----