Mr. Andrew Brownlee:

On behalf of SOLAS, Education and Training Boards Ireland, ETBI, and the ETBs, I thank the joint committee for the opportunity to speak to it on leaving certificate reform.

SOLAS is an agency within the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. We have responsibility for funding, co-ordinating and monitoring of further education and training, FET, provision across Ireland. We are also the statutory authority for apprenticeships. Through the 16 ETBs and other providers, the FET system offers access to a wide range of learning opportunities and supports in every corner of the country, regardless of background or formal education level, and a learning pathway to take people as far as they want to go. It currently serves a base of approximately 200,000 unique learners every year. School leavers are a significant part of this provision, including circa 30,000 students on post-leaving certificate courses and many more opportunities through traineeships, specific skills training and apprenticeships.

SOLAS welcomes the Government's commitment to reform of the leaving certificate and senior cycle education and the resulting focus on improving access and pathways into all forms of tertiary education for people. Currently, more than two thirds of second level students choose to enter higher education directly after their leaving certificate. However, it is our belief that a proportion of these students would be better suited to a technical or vocational route where they could develop their creativity or technical skills. Key to achieving this is providing the opportunity to learn about further education and training courses and apprenticeships at the point where decisions are being made on their future learning pathways post secondary school.

In response to this, I am delighted to confirm that, for the first time and as the Minister mentioned, CAO applicants in 2022 will be able to get information and apply for FET courses and view apprenticeship options via a link from the CAO website when it goes live this Friday. This means that all of a school leaver's options will be available to him or her on one single platform. This is a significant step towards improving pathways and will bring a focus on all of the opportunities available for students. However, more work is needed in order to achieve the ambition of having an integrated and inclusive tertiary education system. Together with the ETBs and other FET stakeholders, we are one year into the implementation of the ambitious FET strategy, Future FET: Transforming Learning 2020–2024. This strategy sets out a clear strategic roadmap for the FET system that centres on three core pillars of building skills, fostering inclusion and creating pathways. In the context of leaving certificate reform, the pillar of creating pathways has specific relevance in terms of school leavers entering the FET system.

The lack of exposure to vocational learning and the lack of vocational options in junior and senior cycles are highlighted as barriers to school leavers developing an interest in FET. This finding was reinforced through our engagement with the NCCA and was underscored in the SOLAS formal submission to the public consultation on the reform of the senior cycle.

International approaches suggest a potential role for FET in offering modules and tasters of vocational courses to second-level students where existing teaching resources simply do not have the required technical experience to deliver them. The potential for apprenticeship taster offerings as part of transition year, TY, is currently being tested in some schools. The scale of this collaborative practice has the potential to be further expanded. Indeed, with the ETBs operating many second-level schools, this could facilitate piloting of any new approaches and potentially support earlier interventions to inform future learner pathways to FET. Furthermore, it provides a basis to consider the introduction of offerings at level 5 and level 6 as an integrated part of the senior cycle.

All-of-system career guidance is also vital for successful reform. The FET strategy outlines this, building on the independent report commissioned by the Government on career guidance. SOLAS and ETBs work closely with both the Institute of Guidance Counsellors and the National Centre for Guidance in Education to ensure their members are equipped with the latest information on FET options and we look forward to continuing to work with them to improve timely access to information. As a general principle, it is important that FET is promoted as a valid and smart potential destination from the earliest stage within schools. SOLAS has launched successful national campaigns in recent years to build awareness around FET and apprenticeship options, which are vital to ensure that ETBs can compete on an equal footing in terms of choices for progression by school leavers.

In conclusion, as the FET strategy and relevant cross-government policy to date demonstrates, there is a real opportunity now for ambitious reform, not only in FET, but in wider second-level and tertiary education provision. This reform and the other key actions outlined in the FET strategy will together deliver tangible change that better serves both the needs of the learner and the country as a whole, in directly tackling labour and skills shortages and supporting the achievement of national goals and challenges such as Future Jobs Ireland, climate change and Housing for All. Continuing to build and strengthen pathways from secondary school to FET is a key strategic objective for SOLAS and the wider FET sector. Vocational options in TY and senior cycle, reform of the CAO and continuing to work with guidance professionals are key to unlocking this growth.

I hope that this provides a brief overview of SOLAS views on matters related to reform of the leaving certificate. I thank committee members for their time and look forward to discussion of this matter.