Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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107. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to set out the extent to which it is expected that the skills available, through those on the live register, will be matched to the skill requirements of the workplace, in respect of the indigenous and foreign direct investment sectors, over the course of the next three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6553/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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As part of the implementation of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work, there is a continuing focus on matching the skills of those on the Live Register with the current and future skills demands of both indigenous and foreign owned businesses. As well as those recruited directly into such vacancies, there is a clear focus on improvements in education and training through the provision of programmes for a diverse range of unemployed people. These include those provided by the Education and Training Boards in the implementation of the Further Education Strategy 2014-2018, the Momentum programmes, the Higher Education authority’s Springboard programmes which offer short higher education courses for jobseekers with previous work experience, employment incentive schemes such as JobsPlus and the doubling of places on high-level ICT third level courses as part of the second ICT Skills Action Plan. The 16th January call for employers and education providers to collaborate in developing a range of new apprenticeships should provide further opportunities for those on the live register seeking to develop careers across a broader range of apprenticeships across the manufacturing and services sectors. The Action Plan for Jobs since 2012 has set a comprehensive set of measures agreed by Government to promote job opportunities and employment growth in all parts of the country. The 2015 Action Plan for Jobs was launched on January 29th. It commits to implementing the 70 actions in Pathways to Work 2015. These include beginning the new account management approach to employers, roll-out JobPath, continuing to roll-out the Youth Guarantee initiatives, and introduce a Back to Work Family Dividend. Almost 80,000 more people are at work since the launch of the first Action Plan for Jobs in 2012.

Indigenous exports and foreign direct investment are at all-time record levels. Our competitiveness ranking internationally has climbed to 15th. The rate of unemployment has declined from a peak of 15.1 per cent at the start of 2012 to below 10.6 per cent at end 2014. In 2014, client companies of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland created 8,476 and 7,131 net new jobs respectively; this represents the highest levels of net new job creation by agency client companies in over a decade and most of this employment growth was in full-time employment.

The 2015 Action Plan contains a suite of 380 actions to deliver an additional 40,000 jobs this year. Specifically, in 2015, Enterprise Ireland will target the creation of 13,000 gross new full-time jobs in indigenous firms. IDA Ireland will target the creation of 14,000 gross new jobs in multinationals. It is estimated that every direct job created in agency assisted firms indirectly supports another job in the wider economy thereby making a strong contribution to the overall target of getting to full employment in 2018.

The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) plays a key role in advising on the current and future skills required by employer and that education and training provision reflects these needs, through for example providing the guidelines on skills needs for the annual Springboard courses for jobseekers. Officials from the Department of Education and Skills and my Department, the HEA and further and higher education and training providers participate in the EGFSN along with industry representatives and IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. Recent EGFSN reports have anticipated future job opportunities arising from both expansion and replacement demand for a range of occupational roles including in ICT, data analytics, manufacturing, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, international sales and marketing, project management, freight transport, distribution and logistics – including warehousing and growth in the hospitality sector.