Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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81. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the areas the skills and labour market research unit has highlighted as having skills shortages such as business administration and management, the green economy, financial services, information technology, manufacturing and engineering, sales and marketing and transport; how he will tackle these skill shortages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18721/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The National Skills Bulletin is produced by the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU) in SOLAS on behalf of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) and highlights a number of areas where there are skills shortages. The scale of these shortages varies and there can be a variety of reasons that impact on the ability of employers to recruit.

The work of the SLMRU provides valuable input in terms of labour market research and is a critical component in the annual service planning process, that takes between SOLAS and each of the 16 ETBs in preparing the annual Further Education and Training service plans, so as to inform education and training provision to meet the identified skill needs of learners, employers and enterprise, across all sectors and on a national and regional basis.

My Department launched a new National Skills Strategy to 2025 in January, to provide a framework for skills development that will help drive Ireland's growth both economically and societally over the next decade. Through the vision, objectives, actions and indicators outlined, the Strategy will support the development of a well-educated, well-skilled and adaptable labour force, creating and sustaining a strong pool of talented people of all ages throughout Ireland.

The Strategy's vision and objectives focus on relevant, high quality education and training provision with continuous evaluation; strong employer participation in skills development and use of skills in their organisations to drive productivity and competitiveness; support for lifelong learning; active inclusion to support participation in education and training and the labour market and increasing the supply of skills to the labour market.

It sets out the elements of a new skills architecture which seeks to foster close collaboration between relevant Government Departments and agencies and develop structures to strengthen engagement between the education and training system and enterprise. It provides for establishment of the National Skills Council to provide a mechanism to mediate demands across the full range of needs identified through the research and analysis conducted under its direction and by the new network of nine Regional Skills Fora.

The skills needs of the economy are met from both mainstream Further and Higher Education and Training provision as well as through targeted programmes such as Momentum and Springboard. In recent years, higher education enrolments have continued to increase throughout the economic crisis. Numbers have increased from 196,000 in 2011/12 to around 210,000 in 2014/15. Within the Further Education and Training sector, a range of flexible high quality provision will be made available for almost 340,000 beneficiaries in 2016, with provision including new career traineeships in areas such as hospitality and engineering and new programmes in IT, entrepreneurship, information technology, manufacturing and business and finance.

As part of the Springboard programme, between 2011 and 2015, 30,000 free places have been provided on 1,000 programmes in disciplines related to high growth areas in the economy. Springboard+ 2016, which incorporates the ICT skills conversion programme, is providing nearly 6,000 free higher education places for jobseekers who wish to upskill or reskill in areas where there are identified skills needs. These include ICT, manufacturing, international financial services and entrepreneurship.

Following on from a comprehensive review of the Irish apprenticeship system, a major initiative is also underway to reform and expand apprenticeship. The content of existing apprenticeships is being modernised, with new curricula being rolled out in five of the most popular trades and a curriculum review underway in the remaining trades. A new Apprenticeship Council has been established that is prioritising the development of 25 new apprenticeships in areas such as ICT, financial services, transport and tourism and hospitality. These new apprenticeships are being progressed following the evaluation of responses to a call for proposals from employers and education and training providers. This expansion of apprenticeship will provide new options for school leavers as well as for those seeking to reskill or upskill in the labour market. In the Programme for Partnership Government we have committed to double the number of apprenticeships by 2020, together with the Apprenticeship Council, SOLAS, the ETBs and with Industry and to target 100 different apprenticeship schemes spread across sectors of the economy and in every region of Ireland.

Given the scale of demand for ICT skills, my Department and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation launched a revised Government/Industry ICT Skills Action Plan in 2014. The Plan takes a comprehensive approach including increases in high-level graduate output, enhancing awareness of ICT as a career among students, maintaining a strong talent pool and promoting Ireland as a destination for ICT talent. Implementation of the plan is being overseen by a high-level steering group shared by the two departments and including representatives from industry and the education system, and delivery teams have been set up to progress areas of work set out under the plan. ICT graduate output from the higher education sector has increased significantly since the first ICT plan was published in 2011.

Under the umbrella of Springboard+, ICT conversion courses are also open to a wide cohort of applicants given the priority in this area. This year, for the first time, two-year part time ICT Conversion Courses are also being made available on a pilot basis, to enable people who are unable to commit to a full-time course, the opportunity to reskill in this area. Employment outcomes for Springboard graduates are very strong and further information on outcomes is available in the trend analysis reports published on my Department's website.