Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Senator said that there needs to be a county-by-county focus on delivery at local level. That is exactly what the legislation underpinning the education and training boards has set out to do. It gives them the autonomy to be that granular in their own county, to determine what the skills shortages are in the particular region and to respond to them in an effective manner.

Senator Quinn sought tax breaks for businesses who provide training. Every year between €15 million and €20 million of my Department's resources is invested in Skillnets. We have yet to fully realise the value of the Skillnets model across all of industry here. Some businesses really get it, understand it, are passionate about it and actively engage with Skillnets. However, we must again reach out to industry. Perhaps we could ask other sectors that do not engage in the Skillnets model to get involved and show them the merits of the scheme. Such an initiative would expand industry participation in training and further education in the future.

Private universities were mentioned. Earlier I mentioned that I travel abroad to market Ireland as a destination for international education. Enterprise Ireland now has an exceptionally successful unit called Education in Ireland which has engineered, along with officials in my Department, a 35% increase in international participation in our education system over the past two years. Colleges like the Dublin Business School and Griffith College are very much part of the family of institutions that travel with us abroad on trade missions to attract more students to various places. There is a significant and ongoing participation by private universities and support is provided.

The Senator mentioned the issue of online and digital learning and massive open online courses, MOOCs, and I agree wholeheartedly with him. It is interesting to note that one of the world's largest MOOCs is based in Galway and is available at alison.com. It is the largest provider of education in the African continent, has 2 million users online and gains about 100,000 extra users per month. Without question, all of our second and third level institutions involved in education need to acknowledge the powerful role that technology can play in delivering education in the future. Ireland needs to lead the revolution that is taking place in technology and education rather than traipse along on its coat tails. Ireland has all of the necessary ingredients to be a world leader in digital learning innovation.

Senator Moran wants the apprenticeship system expanded to other sectors and she is right. She mentioned the fact that we have a strong tradition here and we do in certain crafts such as mechanics, plastering and electricians. Apprentices have won major awards. Every year the young apprentices who travel abroad to compete in world craft competitions always come home with a plethora of medals. We must use and build on the expertise and wisdom that we have accrued over the decades in those few sectors and expand it to other models.

Fast Track to IT is funded by SOLAS and does wonderful work. Last year and the previous year it engaged with every single multinational and indigenous company involved in the ICT sector and asked them to produce a map of the skills shortages that occur. Fast Track to IT has responded to the information by designing courses in conjunction with those industries in order for young people to access and occupy current vacancies. As Senator Bradford pointed out, the scheme does not refer to computer science graduates or software engineers but operates below that level to technicians, sales people and back-office support. Such occupations are just as important to the sector and to its success in the future as software engineers.

Senator Moran also mentioned data collection. I was very strong about that issue with the SOLAS implementation group. We do not collect enough data from learners and trainees. We need to ensure that every single participant benefits so we must immediately determine from them how successful the intervention has been. On a personal level, we must discover whether he or she found the intervention rewarding, inspirational or invigorating. On a qualification level, we must discover whether the qualification a person has attained will empower him or her to go on to a higher level of education or go right back into the workforce. We do not collect that data in a meaningful manner but the technology exists for doing so. The data could act as an incredible and powerful tool to design and strategise provision for the future. SOLAS will have a major role to play in collecting that data and will use it in the most effective way possible.

I acknowledge the issue raised by Senator Wilson about training in Cavan and Monaghan.