Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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170. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which jobs have been created in the high skilled and medium skilled sectors in the past 12 months; the degree to which a pattern in skill requirements has emerged over the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18892/15]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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171. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will outline, from experience over the past four years, the most sought after skills in the jobs market; the extent to which such skills continue to be supplied indigenously; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18896/15]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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172. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which she expects the skills available to match requirements in the job market in the future; her plans for enhancement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18900/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 to 172, inclusive, together.

An important part of my Department's remit is to ensure that structures and programmes are in place to give learners the opportunity to acquire relevant quality education and training that will provide them with the necessary skills to compete for jobs.

According to the Annual Bulletins from the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs in the period 2010 to 2014, skills shortages have emerged in the some roles in the following sectors: ICT, Engineering, Science, Business and Finance, Health, Sales, Craft, Transport and Clerical.

Decisions on provision for labour market related education and training, including targeted programmes such as Momentum and Springboard, are informed by an existing skills identification infrastructure, which includes inputs from the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and the Strategic Labour Market Research Unit, who use an economic model to forecast skills needs/demands in particular sectors.

The Deputy will also be aware of the Apprenticeship Council's recent call for proposals for the development of new apprenticeships.86 separate proposals were received in response. These proposals will be assessed by the Apprenticeship Council against a range of sustainability and deliverability criteria before recommendations are submitted before the end of June to my Department.

My Department is also undertaking a renewal of the National Skills Strategy, which will incorporate education and training policy at all levels of the system. It will include an examination of the skills identification infrastructure used to direct policy and provision.

A project is being led by my Department to establish Regional Skills Fora. The objective of this proposal is to foster better engagement between DES providers (ETBs, Institutes of Technology, Universities, Skillnets) employers and other regional stakeholders in building the skills of their regions.