Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 February 2013
168. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the system of grant-back to education and free fee entitlement for mature students (details supplied) who want to retrain in lower or equal level disciplines different to their original qualification in an effort to improve their chances of employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7798/13]
View answerEligibility for the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) and associated payments is determined and administered by the Department of Social Protection. Any changes to the qualifying criteria for the Back to Education Allowance Scheme are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Social Protection.
In general, under the student grant scheme students who previously pursued a course of study are not eligible for grant assistance for a second period of study at the same level, irrespective of whether or not a grant was paid previously. Subject to the conditions of the student grant scheme, grants are available where students are progressing to a course at a higher level. The objective of this policy is to assist as many students as possible in obtaining one qualification at each level of study. Similarly under the free fees scheme, free fees are not payable for a second period of study at the same level. There are no plans at present to change the arrangements currently in place for these schemes.
However, as part of the joint Government-Industry ICT Action Plan, earlier this month I launched more than 750 free places on level 8 ICT graduate skills conversion courses, targeted at graduate jobseekers who want to reskill for the expanding employment opportunities in the ICT area. Further information on the courses, which are available in higher education institutions are around the country, is available at www.ictskills.ie.
In addition, the Springboard programme targets funding of free part time higher education courses for unemployed people in areas where there are identified labour market skills shortages, such as ICT, Medical Devices and Pharmachem. Springboard places are open to unemployed people who have a previous history of employment and there is no requirement that a person be progressing on the National Framework of Qualifications. More than 10,000 places have been provided under the two rounds of the programme to date. An expansion of the Springboard initiative was announced in Budget 2013 and it is expected that a new call for proposals for courses to be run under the programme will issue in the coming weeks. Further information is available at the dedicated information and applications website: www.springboardcourses.ie.
