Mr. Michael Moriarty:

I thank the committee for inviting Education and Training Boards Ireland to make a presentation. The recent and ongoing transformation and reform of the further education and training sector can be contextualised in terms of the promotion and advancement of vocational education and training by the European Commission in recent years.

Across the EU vocational education and training has been mainstreamed and prioritised by the European Commission, which now places vocational educational and training at the centre of Europe’s strategy for economic regeneration.

Over the past few years, the Commission has presented its strategy in a series ofcommuniqués. One of the most significant for vocational education has been the Brugescommuniqué which saw vocational education and training as an engine for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and it set out a global vision for vocational education and training in 2020 and laid out strategic objectives for member states for the period 2011-20. These are to improve the quality and efficiency of vocational education and training and enhance its attractiveness and relevance; make lifelong learning and mobility a reality; enhance creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship; and promote equity, social cohesion and active citizenship. All across Europe therefore, national governments, social partners and national authorities are working to modernise vocational education and training.

The current structural reform of vocational education and training in Ireland is in line with the European policy to modernise vocational education and training systems across Europe. In Ireland, the vocational education committees were abolished in July 2013 and replaced by 16 regional education and training boards in a very profound reorganisation of the education and training structures. Education and training boards are constituted from the amalgamation of smaller local vocational education committees, now extinct, and the integration of the training division of the former FÁS with the transfer of 16 training centres, which is now taking place. This is an important point to note. Already seven of those training centres have transferred to four education and training boards and the remainder will transfer during this year.

For decades in Ireland the vocational education sector has been the Cinderella of the educational system and was not seen or treated as a separate sector in its own right. Now it is to be mainstreamed and promoted to realise the Minister's stated aim in July 2013 of a world-class further education and training system. The further education and training sector’s future growth will be nurtured by SOLAS, which is currently developing a five-year strategy for the sector in consultation with stakeholders, including the education and training boards. This strategy, as the Members will probably hear, will set out a vision for the sector which will provide a roadmap leading to the future development of vocational education in Ireland. The 16 education and training boards and SOLAS are currently establishing their operational structures. We are engaged with SOLAS on many fronts during this period of transition. Translating the plan in a structural reform process of this magnitude into action is very challenging. In this context, we welcome the establishment of a programme board and project office by the Department of Education and Skills.

In order to fully realise the future potential of vocational education and training and to build a new and better system, we also needed to examine and explore the current models of delivery of further education and training. The NESC strategic review of further education and training commissioned by the Department of Education and Skills and the Department's own review of apprenticeship training have recently been published and will serve to drive the exploitation of the potential of vocational education and inform its future strategic growth. The review of further education and training recommends flexibility and responsiveness in delivery; a robust evaluation of outcomes; the ongoing collection and assessment of data; and the development and adaptation of courses that meet the skills needs of local and regional employers.

Education and Training Boards Ireland has welcomed these reports and we need to rebuild, rebrand and revitalise the sector to meet more effectively the challenge of an Ireland still burdened by debt, high unemployment rates and lack of job opportunities. The key to the future lies in the reskilling and upskilling of jobseekers and other learners. Climbing the skills ladder is essential for Ireland’s future prosperity.

To become truly effective, the current structural realignment of the further education and training will require greater engagement between industry and providers. Aligning employers' skills needs and the opportunities offered by further education and training must be addressed as a priority and will require a systemic and effective engagement at local level. I believe that the establishment of the new 21-member boards of the education and training boards this summer will provide an opportunity for the creation of employer-further education and training subcommittees, which can provide for the active engagement of industry with further education and training providers at local level, both in curriculum development and in ensuring that education and training programmes continue to meet the evolving needs of local industry. From this engagement, structured job placements can be developed, providing sustained and combined workplace learning with learning in an educational setting, and ensuring that theoretical learning is grounded in practical experience.

The review of apprenticeship training recommended that there "should be at least 50% workplace learning". The review of further education and training stated that "More employers need to take responsibility for training and, in co-operation with providers, become more involved in both syllabus development and job placements".

I refer to two significant challenges that must be addressed if we are to optimise the effectiveness of vocation education and training.