Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Seanad chun an díospóireacht seo a bheith againn maidir le cúrsaí oideachais agus an tionchar atá acu ar shaol eacnamaíochta na tíre faoi láthair. It is timely that the House is debating lifelong learning and the educational dividend that can be secured from educational opportunities, particularly in the current economic climate, as Senator O'Reilly outlined. I acknowledge the work being done in this respect by the Minister of State with responsibility for lifelong learning, Deputy Seán Haughey. The Minister of State referred to the publication in December of the report, Building Ireland's Smart Economy, which is a framework for sustainable economic renewal. Education and training are core elements of the report and will play a major part in reshaping the economy into a modern, smart economy.

I propose to outline some of the work being done by the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, and the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey. The Minister has announced 7,000 places for upskilling and retraining in the further and higher education sector to help workers who have lost their jobs. Senator O'Reilly has noted that 27% of the 423,000 people on the live register are in the construction sector. Many of them are in my constituency and I concur with the Senator that we must carefully examine the educational needs of this group, many of whom have acquired specific skills in the construction sector over a period of years. We must focus on how we can reshape these skills and refocus their thinking on gaining meaningful employment in the years ahead. If one does the calculation, one finds that 27% of 423,000 is a large number of people across all of our constituencies. We must focus on their particular needs.

The Department is doing excellent work in providing education and training courses in conjunction with FÁS. The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Mary Coughlan, has launched a number of initiatives in this area in the past 12 months. It is important we continue with this work.

Some of the 7,000 places made available for upskilling and retraining will be taken up by people who have lost their jobs in the construction sector. The courses in question are aimed at upskilling workers to try to gain meaningful, long-term employment in growth sectors in the economy such as information and communications technology, engineering, business energy, medical devices, bio-pharmaceuticals, international finance and food. As the Minister of State noted, 1,500 of these places will be available in post-leaving certificate courses nationally. Overall, 31,688 places are available, with 3,500 full-time and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate places available, as well as places on third level transition courses and accelerated certificate programmes.

Since September more than 12,000 applications have been received from mature students for full-time higher education programmes for this academic year, an increase of 30% on last year. The individuals in question clearly wish to use this opportunity to reskill, re-train and re-educate themselves. Many of those in my constituency who applied for such courses have stated they wish to use the opportunity presented by the current economic climate. In other words, while there may be some employment opportunities available, this may be a time to reflect, reskill and regain educational advantage. The 30% increase in the number of applications indicates a substantial increase in third level participation by mature students. The Minister of State referred to an important issue which is sometimes overlooked, namely, the co-operation between the Departments of Education and Science, Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Social and Family Affairs. I welcome this co-ordinated approach to meeting the challenge we face by providing educational opportunities for individuals who wish to pursue that path in the current climate.

The Minister of State referred to the range of initiatives under the strategic innovation fund to enhance flexible and lifelong learning and encourage work based learning and the incorporation of generic competences in the undergraduate curriculum. Centres for science, engineering and technology and strategic research clusters have been created in colleges with the support of Science Foundation Ireland. These research groups are formally linked with more than 300 multinational and small to medium high-tech enterprises. The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has been instrumental in ensuring the strategic innovation fund reaches out to individuals in co-operation with many small and medium businesses and multinational companies inside and outside the State. This will have a major impact on economic renewal in the years ahead.

This week the expert group on future skills needs published its annual report which found that with continued strategic investment, the upskilling and reskilling of the labour force would play a significant role in providing current and future enterprises with the competitive advantage necessary for Ireland to achieve sustainable, export led economic recovery. This conclusion is of particular importance when one considers that the United States, the United Kingdom and other European neighbours are investing in renewal projects to try to stimulate their economies. The stimulus provided in these countries will create significant advantages for Ireland by ensuring we can export to these stimulus led economies in the future. For this reason, it is vital that we use the current economic conditions as an opportunity to improve our competitiveness by upskilling the labour force. Much work is being done in this regard.

The report also referred to the share of school leavers progressing to higher education, which is approaching the 72% figure laid out in the national skills strategy. The share in 2008 was 60%. It is a significant move of 12% in a 12 month period.

The number of highly skilled graduates in third level education has continued to increase, with the numbers this year reaching 56,300 compared to 55,100 in 2006. It is important to recognise that people are moving to third level education. There is interaction between three Departments to ensure this continues. The Department of Social and Family Welfare is also playing a role in that regard, with a number of initiatives, including the back to education and training initiatives, as well as the back to education allowance which this year is playing a significant part in allowing individuals in receipt of social welfare payments to gain educational opportunities.

While we can look at the current economic climate negatively, we have an opportunity to allow all individuals who possess the initiative to move to further education and training to receive economic assistance from the State through the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The Minister of State's Department can provide the educational space or opportunity. It is vitally important to regain our competitiveness as a state and offer educational opportunities for re-skilling to reshape our workforce in order that we can bounce back from our current economic state.

Some 27% of those who are unemployed worked in the construction sector at one stage or another. This is a high percentage and we have to focus on that element of those who are unemployed. I am not sure how we can do so. Many such individuals may be unemployed on a full-time or part-time basis and receive some level of social welfare assistance. It would be an opportune time to interview many such individuals and ascertain what the future holds for them and how the Minister of State's Department may be able to assist in that regard. Many opportunities are available in the construction section such as through the warmer homes scheme and SEI-funded schemes to transform homes to be more energy efficient. There are many opportunities in the areas of solar energy, wind energy and other forms of energy to re-skill individuals to carry out some of the work required.

I welcome the governmental and ministerial co-operation in this regard and acknowledge the Minister of State's work in the area. He is working with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Social and Family Affairs. That work is being recognised by the number and volume of individuals gaining a third level education. I thank him for his efforts and acknowledge the work being done. This debate gives us an opportunity to reflect on what is being done and outline some of our constituents' concerns about what the future holds for them, their families and progression in work and education.