John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am concerned about having one VEC structure for two large counties. It will not be in the best interests of the students and other people in either county. The Bill is before us and what is proposed will happen. Therefore, we may put up with it.

The VEC structure served the country well since its inception approximately 70 years ago. I was a member of Wexford VEC for some years. There are eight VEC schools in Wexford, some of which are based in the large towns. There are some very good VEC schools in rural Wexford, as in every other county. They have certainly served their purpose. Perhaps in recent years, the VECs may have moved away from serving the purpose for which they were originally set up, that is, to provide skills to and upskill people who may not have wanted to go to a normal secondary school. Recently, VEC schools have been competing with other secondary schools for students and have more or less moved into the junior and leaving certificate systems. Generally, the VECs have provided a very good service, particularly to the young.

The new education and training boards are important because many young people who left school at an early age to work on the buildings during the economic boom, when the pay was high and there were significant incentives, found themselves in difficulty when the bubble burst owing to their having a low standard of education. This is very worrying in my county and, I am sure, many others. There is a high population of young people, now aged 22 or 23, who left school in the mid-2000s with very little education. We are now trying to get them back into the education system. It is very important the education and training boards examine how we can facilitate this.

There have been many strands of education and training in recent years. FÁS offered courses and the VECs offered post-leaving certificate courses. Private trainers were trying to re-skill and re-educate young people such that they could avail of job opportunities. I sometimes wonder whether training bodies were very successful because candidates may have been trained for jobs that did not exist. We must now look at matters differently and examine opportunities that may arise in the agriculture, food, marine and wind and wave energy sectors.

Some time ago, I wrote to the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, about wind turbines, which are being erected throughout the country. Those who want health and safety certificates or to meet the requirements pertaining to the installation of wind turbines have to be sent to England to be trained. I made representations to the chairman of FÁS and the Minister to have such courses offered here. There are certainly job opportunities in this area, as I know from having spoken to those working in the wind energy sector. The latter have stated there are some opportunities for job creation in the sector but that employees need to be skilled and trained. They need to meet the necessary health and safety requirements. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, to consider this.

Agriculture is expanding and developing, as envisaged in Food Harvest 2020, under which we will see a considerable increase in employment in the food sector. There is a need for upskilling and training and to direct people into this area. There are certainly no jobs in the building industry or associated industries at present, but there are considerable numbers of young people waiting to be upskilled and who want to be retrained.

The post-leaving certificate authorities in the vocational schools, in particular, have been doing a very good job in recent years. In Enniscorthy vocational college, there are approximately 300 students doing post-leaving certificate courses. This trend obtains across the county.

St. Senan's psychiatric hospital is to close by early 2013. It is a huge building with 100 acres of land attached. I wrote to the Minister for Education and Skills to determine how we could utilise the building. There will not be great demand for it. I suggest that it become the PLC centre of County Wexford. Instead of offering PLC courses in different schools and areas, there should be a PLC centre with 500 or 600 students. At present, the students are spread across the county. The building is ideal and there is a huge tract of land. We should avail of the opportunity rather than locking the building and paying a fortune on security for years to come. The building could be utilised by the Department of Education and Skills.

The membership of the education and training boards is of concern to some. There is no opportunity for learners on the education and training boards, nor is there an opportunity for local parents to be on the VECs unless they are already members and are selected. The National Parents Council will have representatives on the boards. Could the system be re-examined to ensure there is a role for local parents? There are parents' councils in all the VEC schools across the county and it is important that parents have an opportunity to be represented on the boards.

It is important that business people be represented on the boards. The boards should work very closely with chambers of commerce and business associations in their areas to ensure there is a two-way process. Ultimately, the business people will provide the jobs and opportunities to young people.

Sports organisations are very much to the fore in providing young people with opportunities, such as to play hurling, Gaelic football, soccer and rugby. Many of them have first class facilities at their disposal.

That they provide facilities for training courses, particularly at night, is important. These facilities should be utilised. My GAA club in Enniscorthy has hosted a vocational training opportunities scheme, VTOS, centre for the past decade. The partnership between that sporting organisation and the vocational education committee, VEC, is strong. Some rent is paid, of course, but renting from the private sector would cost more. Sporting organisations have a role to play and I hope that they will be considered for representation on the education and training boards, ETBs. Working in partnership, facilities can be provided so that the large number of unemployed and unskilled young people can be trained for current and future vacancies.

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