Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the CSO figures this morning which show very strong growth in employment which is likely to continue in the next few years. As we head towards full employment, we need to assess how well equipped we are with the skills required by the many companies now locating here. I ask the Leader to organise a debate in the Seanad with the Minister of State with special responsibility for skills, research and innovation, Deputy Damien English, to thrash out the skills requirement. In particular, we need to assess how well equipped we are in low-skilled trades. We pride ourselves on having a very well educated workforce, with very good skills in technology and IT, but companies also require other skills. I saw an interesting recent statistic which pointed to the freight transport and logistics sector as requiring a further 20,000 skilled workers by 2020. Therefore, there is a need to develop a structured career path for lower skilled employees. We need to have a full debate with the Minister for State on how the apprenticeship system can be enhanced to meet these skill requirements. I hope the Minister of State will make himself available in the near future to discuss this issue. We want to ensure the upward trajectory in employment figures continues and the last thing we want is a situation where we cannot meet the requirements of companies which wish to locate here.