Written answers

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Department of Education and Skills

Skills Shortages

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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246. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way he is tackling the skills shortages in the workforce; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51844/12]

Photo of Ciarán CannonCiarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The policy basis which informs the Department of Education and Skills education and training provision and aids the development of relevant workforce skills includes the National Skills Strategy, the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation, the Report of the Task Force on Innovation, the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030, the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work.

In addition to the wide range of cross-cutting policy structures and forums for engagement on enterprise skills needs, such as the National Competitiveness Council, and the Innovation Task Force Implementation Group; direct advice and input from enterprise informs the development of education and training policy on an ongoing basis, for example through participation in the Higher Education Strategy Group and the Project Maths Implementation Group.

The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, which is funded by my Department, also plays a key role in advising on future enterprise skills needs and emerging gaps. The work of the expert group informs the selection of new targeted programmes designed to provide interventions to tackle the skills shortages in particular elements of the economy, e.g. Springboard, Momentum and the ICT skills conversion initiative, which was introduced as part of the ICT Action Plan.

In 2013, there will be continued targeted investment in over 430,000 part-time and full-time places across the further and higher education and training sectors, all of which are open to unemployed people including young people and the long-term unemployed.

This investment includes the provision of the Skillnets Training Networks Programme, which is enterprise-led by nature, where the development of training is led by representatives of industry to ensure that training provision meets the identified needs of the network stakeholders and companies. Furthermore, the establishment of SOLAS, will facilitate a coherent integrated strategic national response across the further education and training sectors and will ensure a greater focus on the evolving skill requirements of the unemployed and of industry. Under SOLAS, training and further education courses will be constantly reviewed to ensure that they are fully aligned to meet the skills needs of enterprise.

The establishment of SOLAS is part of a complex range of related reforms including the transformation of the 33 VECs into 16 Education and Training Boards.

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