Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

116. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the degree to which his Department continues to monitor the industrial sector with a view to ensuring regular ongoing upskilling sufficient to ensure the ability of the industrial sector to compete; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30676/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The National Skills Strategy, published in 2016, sets out a vision for the period to 2025 of how Ireland can continue to develop relevant skills across all sectors, including the industrial sector, and ensure that our supply of skills is activated and effectively used in order to help drive Ireland’s growth both economically and societally over the next decade.  The Strategy, which was developed in close consultation with employers, provides the policy framework in which the education system responds to skills needs.

A new National Skills Council has been established to advise on the prioritisation and delivery of skills needs across the economy, together with nine Regional Skills Fora to help employers maximise the opportunities available from regional and local skills pools. The National Skills Council oversees research from a number of sources including, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit in SOLAS and the Regional Skills Fora.

The Apprenticeship Council continues to develop a wide range of new apprenticeships to meet skills needs in the economy. The Insurance Practitioner Apprenticeship, the first of the new programmes developed through the Apprenticeship Council’s first call for proposals, launched in September 2016 and an Industrial Engineer Apprenticeship commenced in November 2016.  13 further new apprenticeships are due to launch later this year in various sectors. Additional programmes have been also put in place to address specific skills needs across a number of sectors, through the Springboard+ programme and the ICT skills initiatives.