Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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206. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he expects the education system at all levels to be in a position to meet the skills demand in the workplace; the extent to which apprenticeships are likely to impact on the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28680/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I recently launched my Department’s Action Plan for Education 2016 - 2019 which provides a key statement on the reform agenda across education and training.  The central vision of the Action Plan is that Irish Education and Training should become the best in Europe over the next decade.  The plan contains a range of actions to be implemented with particular focus on disadvantage, skills, and continuous improvement within the education service

Among some of the key objectives of the Plan are to: extend coding and ICT options in school; expand Apprenticeships and Traineeships; develop Regional Skills Plans to respond to local needs; expand Skillnets to reach more employers with new options for upgrading skills; reform the funding model for higher education to support Ireland’s growth ambitions and the system’s capacity to meet specific targets on skills gaps; and to increase the availability of quality entrepreneurship programmes and modules in schools and in higher and further education.

In addition, the National Skills Strategy which was launched by my Department earlier this year will provide a framework for skills development that will help drive Ireland’s growth both economically and societally over the next decade.  Included in the actions is the creation of a new National Skills Council.

The Council, when established shortly, will oversee research and advise on prioritisation and delivery of identified skills needs.

The expansion of the apprenticeship system is one of my key priorities and I am encouraged by the increase in apprenticeship registrations in existing trades and the progress being made in introducing new apprenticeships, focusing initially on the 25 priority proposals identified by the Apprenticeship Council through their public call. The first of these new apprenticeships, the Insurance Practitioner Apprenticeship, was launched last month with further new apprenticeships to be launched later this year and early next year.