Mr. Peter Davitt:

Thank you. This is our third occasion to present to the committee and we have very strong progress to report. We also want to outline a new initiative we are bringing into play to facilitate addressing the skills needs in the tech sector.

The presentation has three elements: a brief overview of FIT, information on a recent skills audit we just concluded in October and some detail on the proposed programme we are launching in January 2015. The key aspect of the presentation is that we are very conscious of growth in the economy. In the past year we have seen approximately 3,600 jobs announced in the tech sector, which gives a total of some 22,000 jobs since 2010. In terms of FIT's activity in recent months, we have seen a serious growth in activity in terms of companies taking on new staff and acquiring skills. Therefore, there is a real opportunity and, I hope, a lot of good news to be presented to the committee today.

Clearly, FIT is about the economy and about supporting competitiveness and growth. We want to acknowledge that a lot of work in regard to the opportunity for further education and training to contribute to the tech sector has been already achieved. In particular, the heavy lifting with regard to the establishment of SOLAS and the ETBs is now in place and there is a strong foundation on which to build and enable more people to acquire jobs in the tech sector at levels 5 and 6.

As previously outlined, FIT is an industry-led initiative and most of the major multinational technology companies in Ireland, plus many significant indigenous companies, are on its board. FIT is a registered charity and a not-for-profit organisation. Our endgame is to maximise the number of young and not-so-young people in Ireland to acquire the skills to compete in the tech sector. FIT commenced in Dublin in 1999 and is now an all-Ireland initiative which operates in Northern Ireland also.

In essence, our mission is to promote what we call an inclusive smart economy. There tends to be a focus in the debates and discussions around the tech sector on the need for STEM and honours maths. There is a certain need for those types of disciplines but, as we will outline later, there is a greater need for a broad range of skillsets within the IT sector in Ireland, much of which can be facilitated through programmes at levels 5 and 6. We have three key pillars in terms of our activity. We engage a lot of our activity and resources around the long-term unemployed and second-chance opportunities. More recently, because of the downturn and with the imminent growth, we have focused a lot of energy on the reskilling and upskilling of unemployed professionals. An area of particular attention for FIT at this time is the young unemployed, which is the primary focus of our presentation.

How we develop our initiatives is very much down to creating cross-collaboration, discussion and debate between industry, education and training and providers and the community sector in regard to the actual needs of industry. Thereafter, we engage widely with unemployed individuals to mobilise and encourage them to consider careers and skills within the IT sector. To date, with the support of the ETBs, SOLAS and industry, more than 16,500 people have participated in FIT programmes, of whom more than 12,000 are in jobs today.

One of the clear messages we need to get out to the wider public, including the parents and young people of Ireland, is that the IT sector requires a broad range of skills and is not all programming or algorithms. It requires a variety of skillsets from people who are person-orientated, who are good with their hands, who are creative or who are artistic, as well as those whose focus is the hard coding and programming. There is a variety of different career routes within the tech sector that can be considered by individuals, career guidance teachers and parents.

What we are saying, and as we see on a daily basis, is that ICT skills permeate job opportunities. To compete even at a general level within the general economy requires an appreciation, knowledge and understanding of ICT. For example, 90% of vacancies are advertised online, and applications are made online. It is very much a knowledge-based society.

A key backdrop to our presentation is that we have just concluded our second ICT skills audit for 2014 the focus of which was to identify the needs and demands of the technology sector, to facilitate policy makers and education and training providers with programmes that are responsive to emerging and future needs, and to give direction to young people and jobseekers in terms of imminent opportunities. In essence it is to create a more complete, comprehensive talent pipeline. On this occasion more than 60 companies participated in the skills audit, representing in excess of 30,000 employees.

The information from the skills audit is robust and accurate. The good news is that we have identified in excess of 7,000 vacancies within the technology sector in Ireland. Those vacancies are available today, and it is interesting that 75% of them can be filled through programmes at levels 5 and 6. They fall within the range of what we call competent and entry level, whereas 25% of them are at the higher expert level. Within that framework we are promoting a broader community of smart people with smart skills.

In our discussions we see an upturn in the economy. There is definite growth within the technology sector in Ireland. Every day we hear of new job announcements but we need to make hay while the sun shines. We must first address the vacancies that are available with appropriate programmes and then build additional programmes responsive to future needs and demands within the sector.

We are getting clear messages from both multinational and indigenous companies that there is strong confidence in the skills base within Ireland but there is a desire to see more people come through that framework in terms of job opportunities.

Regarding the skills audit, we took a unique approach in terms of the analysis in that we broke down the technology sector into 12 different disciplines. In each of those disciplines we broke down the sub-skillsets that are required within the technology sector because IT is a very broad area, and it can be confusing for individuals. Certain skillsets can be required in three or four different disciplines so we took a grander approach. We broke it down into sub-skillsets and then broke it down further because we wanted companies to clearly identify where they recruit people at an entry level position and where they require what we call competent and expert level positions. Through that we have been able to develop a range of new courses and programmes that are much more responsive to the emerging and future needs of the technology sector. From our perspective this model has worked well in terms of responding to the future needs and demands of the technology sector but we believe a similar model could be engaged across other sectors of the economy such as pharmaceutical and medical, hospitality, catering etc. There might be a template the committee might consider would be appropriate in terms of enabling growth in other sectors of the economy.

The skills audit identified a substantial number of employment opportunities. A fundamental issue that was recognised is that we need to have a far broader perspective and understanding of tertiary education. Currently in Ireland we seem to work in two silos, first, the silo on planning around further education and training and, second, the silo on planning around higher education and training, but there does not seem to be a continuum. To a degree we have created a polarity.

In some ways there is a general perspective that the most valuable route to skills is predominantly higher education or third level education. Sometimes that is at the expense of appreciation of the potential contribution of further education in terms of meeting the skills demands of our economy and its ability to facilitate a broader range of people considering skills sets.

If one looks at the totality of our tertiary education system, currently we invest in excess of €1.5 billion in third level provision or higher education. We also invest more than €800 million in further education and training. For that reason alone, there must be better joined-up thinking between what is really achievable and deliverable under FE and what is necessarily achievable and deliverable under higher education.

What has enabled a review and reassessment of the quality of FE has been the development of the new common awards system with Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI. For example, we had a direct role in developing the new ICT awards at levels 5 and 6 and we have great confidence in their robustness and responsiveness to the current and emerging needs of industry. The programmes we can build in the future are of a much higher quality and calibre than what may have existed, due to past certification becoming outdated over time. They are now fit for purpose and the value and quality of FE and its potential to contribute to the tech sector and beyond is much stronger than in the past.

In that context, the key lessons of what we are saying is that we must find a more effective dialogue between higher and further education. We must encourage and persuade young people that levels 5 and 6 are also a pathway to careers in IT. We must also reflect on the dialogue or primary promotion that the only way to a career in IT is through STEM and honours mathematics. While there will be always a need and demand for more graduates, there also will be a greater demand for broader skills sets. The danger with just that dialogue is that we might encourage more people to deselect themselves from considering careers in IT because they do not necessarily have STEM or honour mathematics, rather than thinking they are potential candidates.

I attended an event we held this morning with the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, ETB, in one of the Hilton hotels. There were 300 young people looking at the possibility of working with Microsoft and exploring different career opportunities in the tech sector. The level of confidence and aspiration within that room was amazing. We must encourage and nurture that with the development of new programmes.

With regard to the key recommendations that emerge from the skills audit, the good news is that there are more than 7,000 vacancies. There is a requirement to develop new and appropriate courses at levels 5 and 6, a necessity to create a greater dialogue between further and higher education, we must break down the sides of the two and we must present tertiary education as a continuum of education, not one path or another path. Both are equally valued by the sector and create real opportunity.

One of the concluding recommendations in the skills audit has its findings in the previous skills audit of 2012, which at that time identified 4,000 to 4,500 vacancies within the tech sector. The number of vacancies has increased. One of the key recommendations in the previous draft of the audit identified the need to introduce a dual education initiative within ICT at level 5 and level 6. I am pleased to announce that the recommendation was fully endorsed in the latest draft of the skills audit 2014 and we are now in a position, with the support of the Government, to begin a pilot of the ICT associate professional, which is a dual education or an apprenticeship style approach to skills training for the tech sector. I would love to be able to say it is very new and innovative but, to some degree, we are playing catch up. The UK, Germany, Denmark and Australia have been applying apprenticeship type models to skills development in the non-traditional trades for many years.

However, we are very enthusiastic about the model presented in the presentation. We have strong industry buy-in to it. There was a long gestation period in developing this initiative and there was a great deal of dialogue with education and training providers, industry and potential learners.

The initiative will involve a two year programme during which participants will achieve a level 5 or level 6 information and communications technology technical award, either in systems and networks or software development. They will also achieve level 5 or level 6 professional development project management certification. The first six months will be college-based. During the second year three days will be spent in the workplace and two days in college, while in the last six months four days will be spent in the workplace and one day in college.

I am a product of the old apprenticeship model, as I am a bricklayer by trade. I have seen first-hand the potential of dual education or applied learning in enabling people to combine technical know-how with application in the workplace. Regardless of the programme involved, one of the concerns of companies in engaging graduates is that they can and often do have the technical or academic understanding but not necessarily the application or they do not appreciate how to apply that knowledge and understanding in the workplace. These programmes are not only required at levels 5 and 6. We maintain that they are required within higher education also.

The intention is that during the first six months the candidates will remain on whatever allowances to which they are entitled, whether a training allowance or a social welfare payment. From the second six months onwards, in the remaining 18 months, they would be paid by the companies in question. The idea is that they would be sponsored by companies from the outset. We have a strong buy-in and commitment from companies. Already leading companies such as Accenture, CIX, Fujitsu, IBM, Microsoft, SAP and Version 1 have signed up to it. We have discussed the possibilities with a variety of other companies and their level of interest is substantial.

This is going live. Our first recruitment fair for candidates will commence on 9 December in the RDS. The first two courses will commence in Dublin, followed by courses in the midlands and Cork regions. Our intention is that by the middle to the end of next year programmes will be available throughout the country. One key aspect is that this is not an urban initiative. We can be found in a variety of locations throughout the country and are keen to engage as many young people as possible. Our initial pilot scheme covers 200 places, but our aspiration is that within three to five years we will have 3,000 odd people involved in such programmes.

While this is a level 6 programme, the expectation is that it will also be a progression pathway to further and higher education. The idea is that candidates will not remain at level 6 at the end of the programme. The intention is that, in collaboration with their companies and in line with personal career aspirations, they will progress and continue to further and higher education.

That is the overview. We have a clear understanding of the technology sector, its needs and the opportunities it offers. It is a growth sector. We need to fuel that growth and in fuelling it we can stimulate other companies to consider Ireland as a location. Within that context we believe this initiative incorporating ICT and professionals is of its time and needs broad support. I will be glad to take questions from the committee.