Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 321: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the counties and local authorities that have a skills register; his views on the introduction of a skills register for each county and local authority that currently does not have one in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26597/07]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 322: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans he has for the future use of skill registers in the State to aid job creation. [26598/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 321 and 322 together.

Several county and local authorities have taken initiatives to improve the information available on skills in their respective localities. Skills databases have been established in Laois, Meath and Carlow where residents can register their skills and qualifications profile. Similarly both Waterford County Enterprise Board and North Cork Enterprise Board are currently advertising skills registers in their respective areas.

Other initiatives include the Fingal Skills Observatory. It brings together key education and skills stakeholders in the county and aims to better ensure that employer skills needs are met. Fingal County Development Board established the Observatory and Fingal County Council undertakes skills demand surveys of employers on its behalf. As part of the LookWest initiative, the Western Development Commission has also established a skills database for the region covering Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Roscommon, and Clare. I am aware that other county and local authorities are considering the establishment of a skills register for their respective areas. However, I would encourage these bodies to develop a skills register for their respective areas.

On a national level the FÁS Skills and Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU) is charged with acting as a central data gathering, analytical and research resource for the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN). The SLMRU maintains the National Skills Database containing all available statistics relating to skills and the labour market in Ireland. The National Skills Database has been designed to collate all available information about the supply and demand of skills in Ireland. As such, it provides a resource for analysis and forecasting of the labour market at skills level.

In addition, the Programme for Government provides for funding of Regional Skills Advisory Groups. These involve both firms and education and training providers cooperating to ensure that the needs of each region are adequately defined and catered for. The Regional Advisory Groups will provide information regarding the existing skills base of each region. This will allow State agencies to identify skill deficits and to respond with specifically targeted training programmes. They will also identify skills surpluses — information that can be effectively used to attract companies to establish a presence in the particular region.

In this general context I have requested the EGFSN to review processes currently in place for information exchange and transfer between enterprises and training providers at regional level and to advise me on the development of possible new mechanisms needed to ensure that the skills needs of each region are most effectively catered for. This work is currently underway and I expect the Expert Group's report to be finalised in the near future.