Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The report from the expert group on future skills needs, entitled Tomorrow's Skills, is an excellent resource based on sound research and will be very useful if acted upon to plan for the delivery of the skills required for our future economic growth. It sets out a sound and well-crafted vision of Ireland in 2020 in which a well-educated and highly skilled population contributes optimally to a competitive, innovation-driven, knowledge-based, participative and inclusive economy. If Ireland is to prosper and generate more and better jobs, we must invest in our people. A knowledge-based economy requires a skilled, flexible and adaptable workforce based on strong educational attainment and ongoing training and skills enhancement.

In modern economies, an increasing number of people will move jobs several times in the course of a career and retraining and upskilling beyond the traditional education years will be essential to enhancing productivity and protecting the employability of individuals during these transitions. Education and learning also should be valued for their own sakes. The opportunity to learn should be flexible and open to people of all ages, backgrounds and needs, whether in work, at home or retired.

This report is about upskilling the workforce, however, and I wish to deal with some of the issues involved. As well as the vision, the report sets out a number of specific objectives based on analysis of current skills, albeit 2005 figures; a projected skills profile for 2020 if there is not a policy shift; a projected demand for skills based on current economic mix; and the skills required if we are to realise the vision. The specific objectives are as follows: 48% of the workforce should be qualified to NFQ levels six to ten, as against 38% if we continue as is; 45% of the workforce should be qualified to NFQ levels four to five, as against 44% if we continue as is; and 7% of the workforce will remain at NFQ levels one to three, down from 28%. This is a major challenge which should not be underestimated, especially at levels one to three, because our participation rates in continuous learning are quite low compared with other countries.

An additional 500,000 people will have to progress by at least one level and the estimated cost over a 13-year period is in the region of €460 million. Much of the work will need to be done pre-employment while a great deal will need to be done within employment. Major challenges exist. The challenge of upskilling 500,000 people in employment is immense. We must increase support for employer-led training networks delivered through Skillnets and the enterprise development agencies. Greater support should be provided for training networks that focus on transferable skills such as information technology literacy, particularly in the case of low skilled workers. We must accelerate the development of a national framework of qualifications which is well understood and recognised by individuals, employers and providers and which makes access, transfer and progression a reality.

This will require the rapid development of the certification and accreditation system to ensure workplace learning can be properly certified and recognised. The one-step-up approach to skills enhancement being rolled out by FÁS is a very good idea which has been well communicated and will continue to form part of the solution. The role of FÁS must be enhanced and it must be challenged to achieve greater focus and efficiencies. FÁS should be given a strong mandate to expand work training schemes and apprenticeships and to empower individuals and small businesses to access relevant training.

We must provide for and encourage workers to take two weeks' paid study leave from work. This should be paid for out of the social insurance fund. We should make this mandatory for the employer and employee and this should be based on a proper training needs analysis and should be individually tailored where possible to avoid putting unbearable pressure on any individual. A proper training needs analysis for all employees, together with an individual training plan for every employee and a target spend of at least 3% of turnover, should be made mandatory to achieve certain supports or else incentivised in some way to achieve greater supports.

Many employers and employees, particularly in the small and medium enterprises, SME, sector, cannot see the day when their company or job might cease to exist. They are operating in their comfort zone and see no immediate benefit in moving out of it. However, the changes that are happening must be confronted. Business models that made sense and were successful a decade ago are rapidly running out of time. Trade unions and employer organisations have a role to play in bringing about a change in mindset in this regard. Both are rising to the challenge. Employers must be convinced that identifying skills needs and providing training for their employees will benefit their firms to the extent that they are prepared to make the investment.

This report sets out the vision for and objectives of a national skills strategy, deals with the key issues to be addressed and acknowledges the difficulties and costs. However, it does not provide strategies for the delivery of those objectives. In fairness, it does not purport to do so. Instead, it proposes that an implementation mechanism under the auspices of the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Education and Science be put in place. The first meeting on the implementation of such an approach will take place tomorrow. This process must include all the stakeholders, without becoming too large and unwieldy. The report rightly states that a one-step-up approach must include a broad range of providers, including universities, institutes of technology, vocational education committees, Skillnets, FÁS and other Government agencies and education providers. Trade unions, through the ICTU, and employer bodies should also be involved.

This is a useful and worthwhile report which sets out the overall vision and identifies the objectives and the issues to be tackled. The time has come to deliver the strategies that will meet this vision. In preparation for today's debate, I contacted Forfás to ask when the first meeting on the implementation strategy would be held. I was informed that it took place in March. I am pleased the next meeting is tomorrow but surprised at the news that it is the first one. I commend the strategy but urge that it be acted upon without delay. There must be a high-level commitment to its delivery.