Ms Yvonne Croskery:

I thank the committee for inviting me to speak on behalf of the Minister for Employment and Learning, Dr. Stephen Farry, and in particular to discuss cross-Border opportunities for promoting job creation and preventing youth unemployment through education and training.

Rebuilding and rebalancing our economy are strategic priorities for the Northern Ireland Executive. My Department makes a key contribution to achieving these outcomes by improving young people's skills and, in so doing, providing a route to sustained employment. As the committee will appreciate, there are many work streams across my Department. I hope to give members a flavour of some of the cross-Border activity that is ongoing. For example, our employment service has well-established links with the Department of Social Protection, sharing developments in policy, programmes and service delivery and exploring opportunities for co-operation. Both Departments play an active role in the EURES cross-Border partnership, which encourages and supports labour mobility on a cross-Border basis by providing information for workers, jobseekers and employers. Most recently, the partnership organised a series of cross-Border job fairs and recruitment events in Cavan and Armagh as well as a cross-Border IT recruitment convention for young people in Derry and a speed networking event for employers in Louth to encourage cross-Border trade.

In terms of further education, my Department provides funding every year for several thousand students living in the Republic to undertake courses in Northern Ireland. The highest concentration of these students appears to be in the Donegal area who attend the North West Regional College. As Mr. Baldwin mentioned, my Department and the Department of Education and Skills jointly produced a report this year analysing student flows between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Work is under way to develop a leaver survey for the further education sector which will include details of the destinations of learners living in the Republic. The report details student flows in higher and further education and provides a sound basis for future policy development in both sectors.

This year, organisations based in Northern Ireland secured funding of almost €6 million under the ERASMUS+ programme, allowing many of our young people to study, train and gain work experience internationally. ERASMUS+, Horizon 2020 and INTERREG V projects run by our higher education institutes and further education colleges include cross-Border mobility projects for students and staff together with the building of strategic partnerships in the Republic. The colleges are actively seeking partnerships with the education and training boards in preparation for the 2016 ERASMUS+ calls.

Regarding higher education specifically, my Department continues to work with colleagues in the Department of Education to implement recommendations arising from a report on barriers to undergraduate student mobility. The report was jointly produced by the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, IBEC, and the Confederation of British Industry, CBI.

Strong relationships have been developed in higher education research through the US Ireland Partnership.

The youth policy and strategy division of my Department recently published two new strategies for apprenticeships and youth training. They set out a blueprint for the future of these systems in Northern Ireland. A number of pilots are currently operating. When the new systems roll out next year, there will be opportunities for the young people taking part to exchange international knowledge and participate in activities. This will be beneficial to employers through the sharing of good practice and innovation. The new apprenticeships are designed to allow for international portability. We believe this is critical and we have been working closely with Mr. Baldwin and his team in this regard.

My Department is leading on the development of united youth, an integrated good relations programme for young people who are not in education, employment or training. The programme is a key commitment in the Northern Ireland Executive strategy, Together: Building a United Community. A total of 13 pilots are running throughout Northern Ireland at the moment delivered by a range of community and voluntary organisations. They are testing a range of approaches to achieving our key outcomes, including good relations, personal development, citizenship and employability. The learning from these pilots will help us to develop a service design framework for the programme after March 2016. The key elements of the programme will be delivered on a cross-Border basis via a youth initiative with funding secured through the children and young people's standard of PEACE IV. Under PEACE IV, a working group is being established and this will include representatives from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the National Youth Council of Ireland.

There are many opportunities for joined-up approaches aimed at both preventing and tackling youth unemployment. I hope I have given the committee a snapshot of some of the cross-Border initiatives in which my Department is engaged.