Written answers

Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Department of Education and Skills

Further and Higher Education

Photo of Alan FarrellAlan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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76. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the work undertaken by his Department to support higher and further education providers to meet the need for skilled and trained personnel in the area of retrofitting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6196/22]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Growth in education and training provision in green skills and sustainability is ongoing across the Tertiary Education sector. A range of options are available from short courses targeted at awareness building, upskilling and reskilling programmes to full and part-time academic and vocational programmes.

In the further education and training (FET) sector, short courses are targeted at upskilling and increasing knowledge awareness for existing professionals. NZEB and retrofit training places are delivered through centres of excellence and more places will come on-stream with the establishment of a further three centres of excellence.

SOLAS’s strategy on green skills will support the Climate Action Plan, Skills for Zero Carbon and Building Future Skills, and associated skills training at FET level. SOLAS’S active engagement across a broad range of internal, external and industry stakeholders will ensure that tangible and appropriate FET responses are devised. It also outlines the National Recovery and Resilience Plan’s funding of €39 million for green skills will be split across €29 million for 4,550 NZEB & Retrofit training places and €10M for 60,000 Green Skills modules places.

In the higher education sector, supplementing core education delivery, funding is provided under Springboard and the Human Capital Initiative to incentivise the delivery of programmes which support the development of professionals in areas such as building analysis and climate adaptation; sustainable building technology and retrofit, conservation and sustainability. Under Springboard+ 2021/22, there are 17 courses available in green skills and sustainability such as Near Zero Energy Building (NZEB), Bio-Energy and Clean Technologies.

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