Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I look forward to Deputy Ó Murchú and I having this meeting on personal assistants and how we can make progress on that. Skillnet Ireland is the agency that can reach in to businesses to try to provide those transversal skills and to provide short courses. On the point Deputy Ó Cathasaigh made, Skillnet Ireland becoming Ireland's leading agency for upskilling and reskilling within the workplace will be one of the key policy directions of travel that will be seen from me and my Department in the months ahead. Going back to the European Year of Skills 2023, there are two things we need to showcase and to challenge ourselves on from a policy point of view. First is the fact that more and more people needing access to the education system are not going to just be full-time students or full-time young students. For all of the reasons outlined by Deputy Ó Cathasaigh such as the climate, digital, the way we work, artificial intelligence and so many others, more and more people, including well-qualified people in well-paid jobs, will need to be able to access education in a way that works for them. Second, we have too many people in this country locked out of full societal participation due to literacy and numeracy skills. It is not their fault; it is ours. The adult literacy for life strategy gives us a real opportunity to go back to make sure those people can go back and play their full role in society and the economy too.

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