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

I agree with Senator Bradford that one size does not fit all and flexibility is key. He is correct that the strong tradition of apprenticeship delivery, which dates back over decades, must be expanded to other areas.

Senators Healy Eames and O'Donnell raised the same issue, namely, how to improve the status of further education and training and the apprenticeship model among learners and parents. How do we raise their awareness of the unique value of such schemes and the ability to lead people to very long and rewarding careers? SOLAS is now in existence and has brought together the two disparate entities of further education and training. SOLAS has done a huge amount of work in conferring that status upon it. Obviously SOLAS will be tested - as it should be - by its future success in encouraging many others to become involved in the particular area of provision that it is responsible for.

A Senator mentioned learning by doing and I agree with the philosophy. One can ask anybody in business what is the one skill that all people will need in the future and he or she will answer without thinking that it is creativity. Some people do not need to try hard because they are innately creative. We must nurture, foster and raise creative people up as key participants in the Ireland of the future which did not happen in the past.

I hope that I have not left anybody out. I have tried to cover, as best I can, most of the points raised by Senators.

There is no question but that this will become a crucial part of our educational delivery in future. The advent of SOLAS and the educational training boards, ETBs, provides the machinery whereby we will deliver it. From my own engagement with those involved in SOLAS, including the board of SOLAS, the CEOs of our ETBs, as well as the teachers and tutors, I know they acknowledge that this is a particularly powerful mechanism for delivering high quality outcomes. Everybody knows that it is a particularly powerful mechanism for setting people on the road to long, rewarding and fulfilling careers and lives.

We finally have that kind of unity of purpose now that we did not have before SOLAS was created. We are all working towards the best possible outcomes for every single person we set out to support, which is how it should be.