Ms Meadhbh Costello:

I will quickly answer the question on career guidance. One of the opportunities with the national training fund is that it is an opportunity for once-off step change and delivery of investment. One of the areas we identified is the issue of career guidance. In Ireland, we have many high-quality education and training opportunities but it can be very difficult for a learner or business to understand what the best one is for them. One of the things we proposed is the idea of a centralised careers portal that could bring some of that independent information together and also provide information on the changing rate of skills and emerging technologies, etc. that impact the future of work, with two other broader challenges around career guidance, namely, an underinvestment in the system and an under-resourcing of career guidance. If we want people to engage in lifelong learning, particularly as they will change careers and need to upskill more often, we need to see a significant step-change in investment for career guidance.