Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)

I thank the witnesses for all their patience with us today.

I have a follow-up question on how we crack the nut when it comes to SMEs. Recognising that SMEs are the largest cohort of employers in the country, we want to engage with more of them in the context of upskilling their teams and bringing more people on board in the context of this apprenticeship model. I am not certain if it was Dr. Murray or Mr. Smith who mentioned the role of the professional bodies. My background is in communications and marketing; so, the Marketing Institute. However, I spent some time working with Skillnet on a general or mixed programme. In that time, I noticed the trend towards sectoral programmes. I was involved with Skillnet as part of my involvement with a chamber of commerce. The programme was mixed, as would be the case with the membership of the chamber of commerce. We were increasingly competing for funding with sectoral Skillnet programmes that had a lot of expertise in particular areas. Those programmes were national as opposed to geographical. Has Skillnet sponsored the development of an apprenticeships? Will our witnesses share their thoughts on this matter? I recognise that Skillnet is a State-funded agency and has a national remit to support SMEs to scale, if possible, and to be successful.