Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have all heard today of the incredible amount of planning and work that has gone into supporting the various sectors in education through this most difficult period and the current work on reopening schools and third level institutions. As Minister of State with responsibility for skills and further education, I will update the House on actions taken to support those sectors respond to the Covid-19 crisis to date and into the future.

First, I will cover the ongoing work to reopen education facilities generally. As the Minister mentioned, a Covid-19 adaptation framework was developed by the Department to assist this work. Changes to public health advice that are likely to be made throughout 2020 and 2021 will change and shape the learning experience in further and higher education and the framework has been developed in a way that eases accommodation of these changes for the sector.

The planning for a return has been ongoing but we must remember that managing the response to the Covid-19 crisis will not end in September. The framework will provide a structure for the ongoing management of the Covid-19 crisis as we move through the academic year. Blended learning will need to continue and to be enhanced for learners according to the current local public health situation and prevailing circumstances within the institution and provider. However, as the acting Chief Medical Officer noted earlier this week, "there are no zero risk options for reopening schools or indeed any other environment" and cases and outbreaks are likely to arise despite all best precautions. We must reopen in as safe a way as possible by ensuring that all appropriate public health measures are in place. Physical distancing, hand hygiene and other health and safety guidelines will require adaptations to the physical environment and any new restrictions. Institutions and providers are prepared to show their resilience again by responding quickly and innovatively should there be a return to a higher level of restrictions, as they did during the emergency period of the pandemic. Everyone will need to stay abreast of the emerging situation as facilities reopen and people return to campuses and facilities throughout the State. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre and HSE will continue to publish advice and guidance to help us all deal with any changing situations.

The general principles which apply to the management of Covid-19 include the safety and welfare of employees as well as students and trainees. There are, therefore, responsibilities on all facilities to ensure compliance and it is incumbent on all employees returning to the workplace to fully comply with any plans.

The Department has also been considering how to respond to skills issues emerging in light of the impact of the public health crisis on employment and the labour market. Tertiary education provision will also be shaped to respond to skills issues emerging in light of the impact of the public health crisis on employment and the labour market. These issues have been considered by the national training fund advisory group and the National Skills Council, groups that bring together employers, Departments and agencies and education and training providers. A set of recommendations has been developed through this process. These have been communicated to providers and employer bodies and included in the National Skills Council’s summer statement in May. The recommendations emphasise how education and training supports for companies and workers and expanded activity in providing skills for a wider pool of jobseekers should be informed by the medium and long-term skills priorities. This includes responding to the rapid pace of workplace change, which intensified over the period of the pandemic, the centrality of digital skills in virtually all occupations, the need to drive the green economy and respond to the challenge of Brexit, and the importance of leadership and management, which has been made even more apparent as workplace change and product and service innovation have accelerated in recent months.

The balance of the impact of the pandemic has also placed an increased emphasis on the need to support regional development and to focus on upskilling those in more vulnerable employment, who have benefited less from employer investment in training. All programmes will need to be flexibly delivered to a diverse set of learners and, in particular, interventions to support jobseekers will be short, focused, agile and well integrated with the workplace. The tertiary sector is now moving to expand its skills provision to support those displaced or impacted by the crisis. This will be done through a new initiative titled Skills to Compete developed by SOLAS and the education and training boards to shape the delivery of education and training for jobseekers, through an expansion of Springboard+ and the roll-out of the human capital initiative in higher education and through a set of targeted interventions from Skillnet Ireland.

The health and safety of everyone in further and higher education remains the paramount objective. Our approach is anchored in national public health advice. As has been shown during the initial emergency period of the pandemic, having clear lines of communication provides clarity and encourages strong, ongoing engagement within further and higher education which, by its nature, is a diverse sector. It is essential, therefore, that communications are delivered by universities, colleges and training providers with clarity for all learners, research, teaching, service and support staff, stakeholders and industry. Ongoing communication will proceed on a continuous basis with students, learners, staff, stakeholders and industry when the new academic year commences and institutions and providers reopen.

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