Dr. Alan Power:

The expert group on future skills needs secretariat’s connection with that ended in 2018 and that is now being carried on by Fáilte Ireland, so it is now the tourism and hospitality skills group, in which all the major industry organisations are represented. There were some key initiatives which arose out of the implementation of the 2015 report. There are apprenticeships which are up and running and which were produced arising out of that. There are also Skillnet Ireland programmes arising out of that, as well as access to the employment permits system for a number of key hospitality and tourism roles. The sector would also work very closely with the Department of Social Protection in terms of EURES, the EU body which is designed to facilitate mobility within the European Union for workers. In terms of gaining recognition for the importance of skills development within the broader tourism and hospitality sector, and the number of initiatives and outlets the sector can leverage now, much was produced by the report. In terms of the implementation and monitoring, that is now being carried on by Fáilte Ireland in connection with the industry groups through the forum that is currently active.