Dr. Kara McGann:

I might ask my colleague, Ms Redmond, to address the matter relating to the WRC in a moment. Reform in the area of apprenticeships would be welcome. It is something to encourage. I have colleagues in IBEC who work in this area with a view to engaging further and increasing the number of employers coming into the area. We have looked at it with our Reboot and Reimagine campaign with regard to Generation Apprenticeship and the focus on that as a clear and active option both for activation and for skills generally.

Uncertified training and upskilling are important. Micro-credentials which we can build on, leading to bigger awards, are important. We need to make that as user-friendly as possible so that we can see greater uptake and engagement because as the Senator says, it is possible to create a learning pathway, so we should increase that, especially when we have an ethos of lifelong learning to keep ourselves competitive. It seems nonsensical not to address that to encourage and grow the level of qualification that people are gaining when upskilling.

On asylum seekers in direct provision, IBEC has a long history of diversity and inclusion work. We would like to see greater access. Where there is access to work, I understand that there are difficulties with bank accounts, driving licences and so on. We need to look at that system to see how we can tap in to often very talented people in the direct provision system and how we can connect that better. We welcome the work in that area and look to support it in future. I ask Ms Redmond to comment on the WRC.