Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 13 Jun 2000

Vol. 521 No. 1

Written Answers. - ADAPT Initiative.

Emmet Stagg

Question:

85 Mr. Stagg asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way in which she will harness best practise for the future following on in the work in human resource development through ADAPT initiative within Léargas in view of the fact that EU funding for this programme is ending on 30 June 2000. [16414/00]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney)

The human resource community initiative, ADAPT, has operated in Ireland between 1995 and 1999. The initiative, supported by the European Social Fund, has funded a total of 83 pilot projects during that period under the broad themes of adaptability to industrial and technological change, education, training and accreditation, partnership in the workplace, e-business and teleworking.

A core objective of community initiatives, such as ADAPT, is to seek to identify and disseminate best practices and learning arising from project results. This role, in so far as ADAPT is concerned, has effectively been carried out by Léargas, the appointed technical support structure for the initiative. Much valuable material has been captured and disseminated by Léargas through the publication of products directories, thematic cluster work, publication of a study on partnership, submissions to policy making fora such as the employment action plan and the Information Society Commission's report for 1999 and the recent publication of "Change @ Work" outlining the results of ADAPT in Ireland.

Many of the results of the ADAPT initiative have already percolated into mainstream activity and have been taken on board by the social partners who have been involved in the pilot projects both as project promoters and as project partners. The involvement of statutory agencies, such as FÁS and Enterprise Ireland, has also contributed to the incorporation of project results into ongoing training provision. I would expect that the absorption of new ideas and learning arising from ADAPT will continue to feed into the development of human resource policy. In that regard, my Department has offered a contract extension to Léargas to assist in this ongoing process and in the preparations for the implementation of the new EQUAL initiative.