Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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51. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures being taken to ensure that our workforce has the skills and education for our green energy transition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14570/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Green skills are essential for ensuring Ireland achieves our targets set out in the Climate Action Plan 2024. My Department has been working with the tertiary sector to develop the skills required to support the green transition – from developing transferable green skills for life to specific requirement for emerging key green sectors such as Nearly Zero Energy Buildings/ Retrofit, eMobility, and renewable energy and offshore wind.

Last October, SOLAS launched Green Skills 2030: The First National Further Education and Training (FET) Strategy for the Green Transition . Green Skills 2030 identifies key skills gaps impacting Ireland’s ability to transition to a climate neutral society across critical sectors of the economy. This marks an important milestone in setting out the direction for the Irish FET sector’s response to emerging green skills needs. This strategy will guide the FET sector in addressing emerging green skills needs and meeting the demands of new occupations within the green economy.

The FET sector is already delivering a range of courses aimed at addressing green skills needs. Upskilling and reskilling courses in Nearly Zero Energy Buildings/ Retrofit for construction workers are offered in a network of six Centres of Excellence operated by ETBs across the country. These centres provide training and certification to learners to boost the skills and training needs of the sustainable construction sector and to help reach our climate goals. There has been significant interest in this space, with the number of enrolments increasing year on year. There have been over 14,000 enrolments in NZEB/ Retrofit courses since the first centre opened in 2020. 2024 saw a record-breaking number of 7,166 enrolments. NZEB/ Retrofit skills are also being incorporated into the curricula of relevant construction apprenticeships through the revalidation process.

The skills requirements for electric vehicle maintenance include the development of upskilling and reskilling opportunities and progressing EV skills through existing motor mechanic apprenticeship programmes. The first step towards the development of a National eMobility Capability Centre was announced in 2023, with the launch of a project office within Longford Westmeath ETB. A technical feasibility study is due to be submitted to the Department in Q2 and will inform policy decision for this skills area.

Alongside the development of the Centre, SOLAS are actively working to consider how e-mobility skills can be most effectively delivered by the FET sector. SOLAS and DFHERIS have developed a skills oversight group which includes representatives from industry to progress this. As part of this process SOLAS is reviewing and redeveloping apprenticeship programmes in the motor family of trades to include EV modules.

My Department, SOLAS and other stakeholders in the FET sector are working to address emerging requirements associated with Ireland’s aim to deliver at least 5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030, with an additional 2 GW in development for non-grid uses, including green hydrogen.

A cross-Departmental Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce is driving delivery and working to capture the economic and business opportunities associated with the development of offshore renewables. It includes skills and workforce responses, with DFHERIS leading, in collaboration with DECC, on a dedicated Skills and Workforce Workstream.

The main goal of the workstream is to identify the skills and workforce requirements for the development of offshore wind and establish a sustainable workforce and skills pipeline. A key output of this workstream was the publication by this Department of the Offshore Wind Skills Action Plan in October 2024.

This Skills Action Plan addresses identified skills shortages in 33 roles required for the development of offshore wind and provides recommendations on how to address these gaps. The plan is designed to guide future activities in the Further and Higher Education sectors for offshore wind in Ireland.

A wide range of short, targeted, and industry-aligned upskilling and reskilling programmes for the renewable energy sector are offered by Green Tech Skillnet including a suite of microcredentials through the newly established Skillnet Offshore Wind Academy.

In recent years, the Irish government has been emphasising the importance of Green Skills in higher education to meet the demands of the modern workforce. Existing Government Initiatives for Higher Education such as Springboard+ and Human Capital Initiative (HCI) are in place to promote these skills and build the capacity of the Irish workforce.

Springboard+ 2024 launched in May 2024, and offers 18 courses in Green Skills-related areas, offering 543 places at NFQ Levels 6 to 9. Courses are part-time, they include but are not limited to Postgraduate Diploma in Innovative and Sustainable Agriculture; Certificate in BIM and Construction Project Management; Certificate in Energy Sustainability and Professional Diploma in Innovation for Sustainability.

A call was issued in January 2025 for higher education institutions to propose courses for inclusion in Springboard+ over the next three years. Under the call, courses providing green and sustainability-focused skills are encouraged as a priority area. In particular, courses submitted under this call are encouraged to enhance the contribution of higher education to the sustainable development agenda and course providers are encouraged to be mindful of the Sustainable Development Goals in their submissions. Furthermore, proposals for courses which contribute to Ireland’s offshore renewable energy targets are also highlighted as welcome on the call.

In the current academic year, HCI Pillar 1 is subsidising 24 courses in Green Skills with 657 places at NFQ Levels 7 to 9. Courses are full and part-time, they include but are not limited to: Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Energy Systems; Certificate in Leadership in Offshore Renewable Energy and Postgraduate Diploma in Energy Innovation for Zero Carbon.

Additionally, half of the 24 HCI Pillar 3 funded projects specifically focus on Green Skills, supporting the construction sector, climate action, and sustainability. These projects include but are not limited to:

• Sustainable Futures (UCC-led) – developing new courses to support a circular and clean economy transition.
• Resilient Design Curricula for 21st Century Professionals – refocusing architectural education on sustainability.
• Ireland’s Knowledge Centre for Carbon, Climate, and Community Action (IKC3) – a national platform for skills in decarbonisation.
• Digital Academy for Sustainable Built Environment (DASBE) – offering 27 new construction industry programmes.
• DCU Futures – introducing new undergraduate programmes such as BSc in Global Challenges and BA in Climate and Environmental Sustainability to prepare students for a sustainable future.