Results 2,301-2,320 of 11,777 for speaker:Niall Collins

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (13 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: Currently during their three periods of off-the-job training (phases 2, 4 and 6 of a seven phase craft apprenticeship), craft apprentices are paid training allowances directly by the Education and Training Boards and are not paid by their employers. Under the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 this arrangement will continue for the 25 apprenticeships which are currently covered under...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (13 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: The National Training Fund Advisory Group was formed following the recommendations from Indecon, which recognised that engagement with employers is key to ensuring provision is aligned with developing skills needs. This advisory group is a permanent resourced structure to optimise enterprise engagement on NTF priorities.The group consists of key stakeholders from the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: I was alluding to the oversight group which comprised SOLAS, ETBs and SIPTU. Revised emergency curriculum and assessments, which will be 18 months long rather than the existing 12-week programme, will be delivered in a blended approach. Three technical teams are being put in place to devise an emergency curriculum over the coming weeks, and it is intended to pilot elements of the approach...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for her question. I assure the Deputy and apprentices that apprentices are not being abandoned and that it is a matter that we are acutely aware of. Craft apprenticeships account for 25 of the 61 existing available apprenticeship programmes. Off-the-job training for these programmes is delivered in training centres or institutes of technology and technological...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: I reiterate that nobody is being abandoned. What is being done to rectify the issue? To date, €2 million has been allocated in capital expenditure to SOLAS and the Higher Education Authority to facilitate 4,000 additional craft apprenticeship places across the system. This is in addition to €12 million already allocated to support additional classes and teaching capacity to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: I will address the Deputy's remarks. She is right with regard to regional skills needs. One of the functions of the new national apprenticeships office will be to identify such needs and to liaise with all relevant stakeholders. The Deputy cited the road haulage industry in that regard. We have seen that the new sector-specific apprenticeships we have developed, led by consortia, are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: A key strength of the apprenticeship model, as highlighted in the recent action plan for apprenticeship, is that it is a demand-led approach to meeting workforce and skill requirements in our economy. In the case of craft apprenticeship, for example, the number of places is determined by employers, with off-the-job training provided to all registered apprentices. Apprenticeships established...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: About 60 different apprenticeship schemes are available and a further 18 schemes are in development across a range of areas, including some that the Deputy mentioned. I take the Deputy's example about school bus drivers. This is something that I have raised with the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. That is an acute issue because drivers are prohibited from doing this work on reaching...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: The Deputy is 100% right. Along with the Minister, Deputy Harris, and our Government colleagues, I have set out to bring apprenticeships into the mainstream - into the middle of our further and higher education offerings. The Deputy mentioned guidance counsellors. We are in discussions with the CAO, which will also bring guidance counsellors into the equation, to give people the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: Apprenticeship is an employer driven demand led educational and training programme which aims to ensure that qualified apprentices are fully skilled to act in an independent capacity in their respective industries. While apprenticeships are national programmes, it is the pattern of employer recruitment of apprentices that determines the availability of individual apprentice opportunities. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: Youthreach is one of a broad suite of 34 Further Education and Training (FET) programmes that are currently funded through the FET System Funding process. This process is essentially a full cost model where each programme initially receives a set amount of funding commensurate to the estimated costs of delivery. Ultimately, the funding provided corresponds to the full costs of delivery. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: The Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme comprises a €2,000 payment when employers register a new apprentice, followed by an additional €1,000 payment one year later where that apprentice is retained. The intention of the scheme is to ensure that apprenticeship will play a key part in supporting economic recovery following COVID-19. The Scheme was initially approved under the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: The growth of the renewable energy sector is critical to meeting our Climate Action targets and I am committed to ensuring that the education and training system is appropriately positioned to support the growth and the development of the skills required to support the sector into the future. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs is currently undertaking a study of the skills required...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 278 together. Reskilling and upskilling is essential to equipping workers whose jobs are unlikely to return in the ‘new normal’ with the skills and knowledge to shift into new roles / occupations in growth sectors of the economy. Continued investment in skills and human capital development delivered by the further and higher education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: The Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme comprises a €2,000 payment when employers register a new apprentice, followed by an additional €1,000 payment one year later where that apprentice is retained. The scheme was initially approved under the July Jobs Stimulus and extended in Budget 2021 for apprentices registering between March 2020 and June 2021. The intention of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: The Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 was launched on 19th April and sets out a five year plan which sets out new ways of structuring, funding, and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeship accessible to employers and learners. The actions set out in the plan seek to deliver on a target of 10,000 apprenticeship registrations per annum by 2025. The Plan will address the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: The Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 was launched on 19th April and sets out a five year plan which sets out new ways of structuring, funding, and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeship accessible to employers and learners. The actions set out in the plan seek to deliver on a target of 10,000 apprenticeship registrations per annum by 2025 across all sectors of the economy...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (8 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: I propose to take Questions Nos. 281 and 293 together. In the further education and training (FET) sector, the Skills to Advance initiative was developed in response to evolving skill needs and assists those facing changes in their work due to technology advances, changing work practices and market diversification. Further education and training (FET) opportunities offered through Skills...

Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of the Technological Universities Act 2018 (Section 36) (Appointed Day) Order 2021: Motion (7 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Technological Universities Act 2018 (Section 36) (Appointed Day) Order 2021, copies of which have been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 11th June, 2021.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (7 Jul 2021)

Niall Collins: The National Training Fund (NTF) was established by the National Training Fund Act, 2000, as a dedicated fund to support the training of those in employment, and those seeking employment. The Act also provides for the funding of research to provide information on existing and likely future skills requirements of the economy. A comprehensive review of the NTF was commissioned by the...