Denis Foley
Question:235 Mr. Foley asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the proposals, if any, he has to create job opportunities for young people and school leavers in 1997. [2969/97]
Written Answers. - Job Creation.
The success of IDA Ireland in attracting high technology projects, particularly over the past number of years, has resulted in a buoyant demand for electronic engineers, technicians, computer science and software engineering graduates and young people with foreign language fluency for teleservices.
In 1996, over 13,000 new jobs were created in IDA-backed companies, making it the best job creation year ever. Overseas companies are now creating two and a half times more jobs per year than they were ten years ago. The current substantial requirement for people with electronics, software and language skills will certainly continue over the next five years as companies already committed to Ireland continue to build up their operations here. These include: Intel, Hewlett Packard and IBM in electronics; Oracle, Saville Systems in software; Alps, involved in automotive parts manufacturing and Hertz and Gateway 2000 in telebusiness.
The jobs available are at a number of different educational levels — at graduate, certificate and diploma level. In particular, there will be a large number of job opportunities in manufacturing and electronic, mechanical and production engineering. These offer creative and worthwhile career opportunities. Because Ireland is a recognised and rapidly growing base for companies needing these skills, there is and will continue to be an abundance of job opportunities for people with them — opportunities for working with world class companies and state of the art technology.
There is also a growing need for people with fluency in foreign languages for the telebusiness sector. With further substantial growth anticipated in the telemarketing business over the next few years, it is also important that language skills continue to be available to meet projected requirements. Policy initiatives have been taken to ensure that this will continue to be the case.
The availability and quality of skills in Ireland is one of the key competitive advantages we have in attracting inward investment to Ireland. This is attested to by the overseas companies located here and the Government fully recognises the importance of maintaining this competitive advantage so as to continue to provide much needed jobs for young people and school leavers in Ireland.
Forbairt is also working with Irish industry in the manufacturing and internationally traded sectors. In 1996, Forbairt assisted companies created 8,842 new jobs. The agency is investing in and assisting companies to develop and grow to maximum capacity. This investment has a significant impact on increased employment throughout the economy, both directly in the companies supported by Forbairt, and indirectly in the growing number of service and supply businesses necessary to service the growing industrial base. The resultant job opportunities will lead to new openings for young people with the appropriate skills and education.
Forbairt is actively participating in a number of activities which are aimed at encouraging a culture of enterprise and a spirit of enterpreneurship among young people. At secondary level it is the national sponsor of YES, the young enterprenueurs scheme. This is a programme organised by a voluntary group of teachers, parents and professionals. It runs a school-based competition for students between the ages of 12 and 18, aimed at preparing young people in full-time education for the challenge of employment. It does this by encouraging them to develop their entrepreneurial skills by setting up and running their own businesses. The YES programme started in one school in 1991-92 and has grown each year since then. In the 1996-97 academic year, 250 schools are participating, involving 7,300 students.
My Department and the agencies are continually monitoring the employment needs of industry and are co-operating with the education sector in seeking to ensure that the skills and education requirements of the different sectors of industry and services are adequately catered for. In this respect, agreement has been reached to increase the intake of school leavers to the software disciplines to cater for the projected increase in demand for software graduates. The skills needs of other growth areas have also been reviewed in detail and necessary resources will be assigned to ensure that we benefit to the full from the high employment growth rates which are projected into the future.
In summary, I am satisfied that the various job creating activities of the agencies that come under my remit, in conjunction with a continuation of the successful economic policies being operated by the Government, represent the best way to create job opportunities for,inter alia, young people and school leavers.