Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills
European Year of Skills 2023: Discussion
11:00 am
Mr. Ray English:
No, I do not think we make enough of it. We sold out last year's event and were at capacity. That was just down to health and safety reasons as regards the number of students who can come through the door. There were 300 schools and all 26 counties were represented. We would love to see a model rolled out that would allow us to reach way beyond Leinster, to get much further into Munster and Connacht and to get involved with more schools. One of the ways to do this is to use the champions that we have. These are people who are familiar with it and how it operates. We can bring them back to the schools to talk to parents and to students who are considering their careers to give them the options that are out there. There are a great many pathways in further education through the National Tertiary Office and in apprenticeships through the National Apprenticeship Office. There are a great many options there; we just need to promote them more.
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