Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle as ucht an deis labhairt ar an mBille seo. Bille tábhachtach atá ann a léiríonn cur chuige nuálaíoch i leith na hearnálacha breisoideachais agus ardoideachais.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and the Minister for bringing this Bill to the Dáil. Fundamental to my reading and understanding of it, after a decade of working in skills research, is that it is essential we now view this form of tertiary education as an integration of further and higher education. The idea of them being two separate streams has to go because that is the only way we will be set up for success in dealing with what is not only a rapidly changing world of work but also a rapidly changing society. We want to ensure all levels of our education system create well-rounded, well-adjusted and equipped-for-life citizens by the end of their formal education.

When I opened the Adamstown Community College careers fair a week ago, I was struck that it was not just universities advertising but also further education colleges and representatives from industry asking people to go into direct employment after secondary school. Óglaigh na hÉireann and An Garda Síochána were represented there as well. It struck me that this is exactly the correct approach being propagated in our secondary schools to ensure that skills, training and further and higher education are all seen as the same approach, namely, tertiary education, as is the model in New Zealand, for example. It has one commission that applies for funding across all tertiary levels of education. That is one approach we need to take in looking at this.

Fundamental to that, as Deputy Gogarty alluded to, is ensuring that when we employ an instrument like the National Training Fund, which is one of those policy instruments that has been shown to stand the test of time in terms of foresight and in equipping our country and economy to plan for the skills of the future, it is not either-or. They should be seen as ultimately driving towards the same goal of creating a strong, skilled and attractive workforce, but also citizens who are fully able to participate in society. Key to that, as the Minister said, is the ability to fund capital provision to enable a quick turnaround and training of skills.

Examples of this are the national construction training centre in Offaly or the national retrofit training centre. They are places where there is a rapid evolution happening in the sorts of skills and training necessary for workers in those areas to upskill and to be at the cutting edge of research and of the work they need to do in those sectors to ensure they are able to adapt and bring the highest level of output to the work they do. That is fundamental. That principle of agility is fundamental to the capital investment the NTF will ensure. If we cast our minds back to maybe three years ago, 3D printers were not a thing we would have expected to see in our training institutions and universities. I like to think the new-age equivalent or the next evolution of 3D printers or associated equipment will be fundamental to the capital provision made in our tertiary education system. In that respect, I welcome the Bill.

The second reason I welcome the Bill relates to the agility it now engenders in the Department to allow for a rapid turnaround of courses, certifications and qualifications to respond to demand in the economy and into broader society as well. A particular focus here is on people with additional needs and people with disabilities. We know from the data we are seeing that there is an increasing demand for primary places in special education. It is only right and prudent that we plan effectively now for when those people decide they are finished with secondary education and want to enter the workforce and fully participate in society, and that we make provision in our training centres, our universities and our further education colleges across all aspects of tertiary education. We should put in place the facilities to ensure those people are able to participate fully in that tertiary education and that they are equipped to be full members of society and participate in the workforce.

One of the great things I love about having a Department now that is solely focused on skills and research is that it shows the importance of this to an economy and to a world of work where the only constant now is change. Everything is changing rapidly. The jobs my children will be doing are jobs that have not been invented yet. As Deputy Connolly alluded to earlier, that needs to be our guiding principle, that we put in place the foundational skills that allow people to adapt quickly to new jobs and to ensure we are allowing for that agile upskilling.

That link with employers is key to the founding principle of the National Training Fund. Deputy Gogarty alluded to the fact there is a levy on employers. It is important their views be reflected in what outcomes, qualifications and certifications are ultimately driven by the National Training Fund. Research shows us that when we look at lifelong learning, the most effective learning is that which is sponsored and led by employers, in response to demand and in response to a skills need. We know on-the-job learning is often one of the most effective ways to learn a new skill. That is why it is important we do not lose sight of that in terms of the courses that are funded. There are very strong offerings by organisations like Skillnet. That is exactly the sort of approach we should be encouraging as a role for employers in ensuring they have that link and sense of ownership and that they see the NTF as a direct response to their needs in the economy and to the skills that are needed as well.

On top of that, the European Commission has, to its credit, heightened the focus on the need for lifelong learning. Ireland has been playing catch-up in this regard for the last 20 or 30 years but I think we are in a much better place than we were a couple of decades ago. Lifelong learning is not just about the economic participation of people in the economy; it is also about social and political participation. In considering the offerings we are making in our further and higher education institutions and our training institutions, we should be thinking about how exactly we can achieve the necessary improved social and political outcomes for those people to make sure that they have that full set of participation.

When we think of the integrative approach to further and higher education, we think of the role our universities should play in sponsoring apprenticeships. That would have been unthinkable in this country 20 or 30 years ago. I think it is somewhere where we need to go. If funding of certain courses and certain capital facilities allows us to enable that in our higher education institutions, we should seriously consider it. Time and again, people tell us that the skills they are looking for most now from graduates, in particular, are problem-solving skills, the ability to work as part of a team and the ability to critically think. Sometimes, these are best learned in the workplace or in working with other people. We need to encourage our universities to do that. They are already beacons of research in the world. We have some of the best universities globally in this country. Let us make them even better and equip them even stronger. Those skills are not just necessary for economic participation; they are core to social and political participation as well. The advent of AI will have an effect on the nature of the jobs people do, and those human and cognitive skills are ever more important.

A focus on skills should be part of a whole-of-government approach. The digital revolution is happening in front of us. The green revolution will not be successful, in my view, unless we successfully upskill the entire workforce with green skills. Skills are the building blocks on which we have achieved every sort of transformation in this country. The approach being taken by the National Training Fund to allow our skills system to become more agile, not just in the courses it funds but also the capital investment that enables an ever-more agile skill system, is very welcome. I welcome the fact the Minister has put the need for a focus on transformation in our skills at the centre of government, because it needs to be a whole-of-government approach. I look forward to the progression of this Bill through the House.

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