Dáil debates

Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Further and Higher Education

7:55 pm

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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69. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which third and fourth level education is likely to focus on the need to supply suitably qualified staff in the public and private sectors and in areas currently experiencing difficulties in obtaining and retaining staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6349/22]

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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This question is about the extent to which the Minister remains focused on the need to supply the workforce with suitably qualified people as quickly and as often as needs arise.

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The challenge to deliver suitably qualified graduates to meet the demands of the public and private sectors is a fundamental focus for my Department. It needs to be and is a fundamental focus for the Government and this House, I am quite sure, across the entire skills system, including tertiary. I often say to students when I meet leaving certificate classes that everybody in the Dáil says we need to build more houses, and we do, but I am not going to build a house, and if every Member of the Dáil were to come together, we probably would not build a house between us. Some of the biggest societal challenges we face, whether climate change or housing, require making sure we have a skills pipeline. That requires a broadening of the conversation we have with young people about their options after school. I passionately believe that.

We have made huge progress on university progression and we should be proud of that. We now need to apply a similar level of focus to broadening the conversation about apprenticeships. Let us debate in this House how best to do so, how we might do it more quickly, what we do well and what we do not do well. I think we can all agree on the need to make sure the students sitting in sixth, fifth or fourth year classrooms today are aware that the trades and the crafts can provide high-paid, skilled jobs that can help address some of the biggest societal challenges. We are putting a focus on making sure that, for the first time ever, apprenticeships and further education and training options are on the CAO website. I am pleased to see that more that 15,000 students who logged on to cao.ie/optionswent directly from that page to the apprenticeship website to find out about more options.

We have an advanced system of skills provision across further and higher education and lifelong learning, which is agile and responsive to changes in the world of work. It is critical that graduates acquire technical and transversal skills. This is an important point in response to the Deputy's question. We need to embed transversal skills in our degree programmes and higher education institutions. The development of skills policy and responses to skills needs is evidence-based and informed by the work of the skills and labour market research unit of SOLAS, which is an agency of my Department, and the expert group on future skills needs.

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. Is it possible, or has consideration been given, to turn on an accelerated supply of suitably qualified people, particularly in the tourism, hotel and catering sectors, where premises cannot open fully, even though they want to, due to a lack of suitably qualified staff?

8:05 pm

Photo of Alan DillonAlan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The regional enterprise plans are soon to be published. We need to align courses, apprenticeships and training provision to meet local needs and future skills needs. The establishment of the Atlantic Technological University in my own region will certainly strengthen further investment in job creation. We can build better capacity within our life science sector, look to be more innovative with regard to green technology and expand growth within our tourism and business sectors. We need a cohesive approach across Departments to ensure we address deficits with regard to future skills needs and that we have a long-term strategy and approach.

Photo of Brendan GriffinBrendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his visit to Tralee, which was very productive and helpful. I invite him to come to Killarney in the near future to meet representatives of the tourism and hospitality industry because there is a particular difficulty there with regard to obtaining and retaining skilled staff. That will be one of the great challenges for the tourism and hospitality sector as we emerge from the pandemic. It deserves really close focus and attention. It would be marvellous if the Minister could come to Killarney, meet representatives of the industry, listen to their views and, it is to be hoped, help to put a solution in place.

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To respond to Deputy Durkan, the short answer is "Yes". I want to work with the tourism and hospitality sector. We have already shown that when we worked with the Irish Hotels Federation to put in place a range of upskilling and reskilling programmes. Its members wanted to use the difficult times of the Covid restrictions when they were not able to open their premises to provide their staff with the skills they might not have had the opportunity or time to develop during a busy season. We remain willing and able to do more in that space and have a budget to do so.

I thank Deputy Dillon for raising the issue of the skills needs of the regions. I am very excited about the opening of the Atlantic Technological University in April. I thank the Deputy for his support and work on this matter. Castlebar will become a university town and Mayo will become a university county. I want to send a clear message in respect of the Atlantic Technological University. Its role will be to work in the context of the regional jobs plans and enterprise strategies and with the regional skills fora to identify where the jobs for the future and for now are in Mayo and the north-west region and to provide the courses and pathways necessary to develop a pipeline of talent. I look forward to visiting Mayo with the Deputy shortly to look at that.

I thank Deputy Griffin very much for his invitation to visit Killarney. I would be delighted to come to Killarney with him to meet businesses, particularly in the tourism and hospitality sector, and to see how we can do more with regard to further education and training opportunities, particularly for those sectors that are busy and that we want to be busier, and to make sure that education and training is provided in an agile and flexible way that works for them. I am delighted that we have provided an employer incentive scheme worth €2,000 to people who take on new apprentices. I hope that will be of use and I look forward to being in Killarney soon.

Is féidir teacht ar Cheisteanna Scríofa ar www.oireachtas.ie. Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.