Vol. 514 No. 1
128 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if adequate retraining and educational facilities are available to meet the ongoing needs of industry, with particular reference to ensuring that all unemployed people have an opportunity for retraining and eventual re-employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3766/00]
Industry can meet its skills needs through training existing staff and by recruiting new employees. In both cases, employers have an important responsibility to ensure that they source and upskill staff to meet the competitive challenges facing the business. Equally, the State has a vital role to play in supporting employers in terms of both pre-entry and in-firm training.
Providing training opportunities for unemployed people, as highlighted in the Deputy's question, is particularly important. In that regard, the Government has in place a wide range of programmes and policies to enhance labour supply and the skills of the unemployed which are set out in the national employment action plan. The process of systematically engaging with unemployed people and supporting them into employment through, for example, the provision of training opportunities by FÁS, is of particular relevance to ensuring that unemployed people have access to training.
This preventative approach under guidelines one and two of the EAP is supplemented with supports to help the long-term unemployed re-integrate into the open labour market. These supports are provided within the framework of the FÁS action plan for the long-term unemployed. The most recent data available for participation by the LTU in mainline FÁS training programmes during 1999 show that up to the end of November, the LTU represented over 22% of all new starters on these programmes, thus exceeding the 1999 commitment of 20%.
As regards the broader issue of skills provision, I would draw the Deputy's attention to the work of the expert group on future skills needs. The group has ongoing responsibility for reviewing skills requirements and the adequacy of training and education provision required to meet existing and anticipated demands.
