Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 June 2017
68. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which she and her Department have examined the skill requirements in the workplace with a view to ensuring continued job creation and productivity in line with modern standards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30680/17]
View answerThe Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) plays a key role in advising the Government on the current and future skills needs of the economy. Recent EGFSN reports have anticipated future job opportunities arising from both expansion and replacement demand for a range of occupational roles, including in biopharma, ICT, data analytics, hospitality, manufacturing, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, international sales and marketing, project management, freight transport, distribution and logistics.
The EGFSN also provides information on employment trends, job opportunities and demand for skills through the annual “National Skills Bulletin” and the “Vacancy Overview” reports. It also provides information on the supply of skills from the Irish education system through the “Monitoring Ireland’s Skills Supply” publication. The EGFSN also publishes reports on specific sectoral, or cross-sectoral skills needs, as well as “Regional Labour Markets Bulletins” which assist in informing regional education and training provision.
The development of ICT skills is one example which this Department has examined and worked closely with the Department of Education and Skills to deliver on. ICT skillsets are important in both the manufacturing and services sectors. The 2013 EGFSN report on “Addressing Future Demand for High-Level ICT Skills” indicated that the continuing strong demand from employers for people with high-level ICT skills across the economy could lead to 44,500 new job openings arising from expansion and replacement demand over the period to 2018. To achieve this jobs potential, the report noted that all available policy levers would need to be utilised to increase high-level ICT skills supply.
In this context, the Government has initiated an ICT Action Plan, now in its second iteration, which provides an integrated response within the education system to increasing the domestic supply of high level ICT skills. The aim of the Plan is to support the flow of people into ICT education, training and careers. Overall implementation of the Plan is driven by a High Level Steering Group which my Department co-chairs with the Department of Education and Skills.
The skills needs in other areas of the economy are being addressed through the Further and Higher education system, through Springboard+ courses which help to upskill or re-skill unemployed people, and through the enterprise-led Training Networks Programme run by Skillnets. This year, Skillnets will deliver over 43,000 training places for those in employment, in a range of sectors and regions across over 63 training networks who will identify training needs and source provision to ensure it is aligned to the needs of workers and enterprise.
In the Higher Education Sector, the primary objective of Springboard+ in 2017 is to provide upskilling and reskilling courses to develop the talent base in Ireland in key growth sectors of the economy including ICT; hospitality; biopharma, medical device technologies and manufacturing; financial services; and entrepreneurship. This year the eligibility criteria has been expanded to include homemakers and those in employment who wish to upskill or reskill in specific high demand skills areas such as in Biopharma.
The Governments Action Plan for Education 2016 – 2019 provides a key statement on the reform agenda across the education and training system. The Plan contains a range of actions to be implemented with particular focus on disadvantage, skills needs, and continuous improvement within the education service.
The Governments National Skills Strategy 2025 has over 120 Actions involving over 50 stakeholders. The purpose of the Strategy is to provide a framework for skills development that will help drive Ireland’s growth both economically and societally over the next decade
Within the Further Education and Training (FET) sector, significant improvements have been made in the planning and funding of provision since the publication of the FET Strategy in 2014. Education and Training Boards engage in a service planning process annually against a range of detailed parameters set by SOLAS. This process has been refined and improved each year and includes the use of strengthened labour market data provided by the SLMRU to ensure that the skill needs of learners and enterprise are met.
In 2015, the Minister for Education and Skills announced the development of 25 new Apprenticeships which cover a wide range of sectors such as manufacturing and engineering, tourism and sport, financial services, information technology, transport distribution and logistics, and business administration and management.
Earlier this year, the Government launched an Action Plan to expand Apprenticeship and Traineeship in Ireland 2016-2020 was launched, setting out how state agencies, education and training providers and employers will work together to deliver on the Programme for Government commitments on the expansion of apprenticeship and traineeship in the period to 2020. The Plan sets out how the pipeline of new apprenticeships already established through the first call for proposals in 2015 will be managed to provide for the needs of all sectors.
In May 2017, the Apprenticeship Council's announced the second call to employers for proposals for new apprenticeship programmes, where areas where apprenticeships have not traditionally existed will be targeted, so as to offer robust new career pathways and options to at least 20% of school leavers. The call is a key action in the plan to double the number of annual apprenticeship and traineeship registrations in 120 different schemes so that by 2020, 50,000 people will be registered on apprenticeship and traineeship programmes.
In April 2017 the National Skills Council and nine Regional Skills Fora were established - both of which are key elements of the new skills architecture as set out in the National Skills Strategy 2025. Working together with Government Departments and agencies along with education and training providers, the work of the Council and fora, will ensure that we can anticipate and respond to current, future and rapidly changing skills needs across all sectors of the economy.
The Council had its first meeting on the 15th May 2017. The Council will oversee research and advise on prioritisation and delivery of identified skills needs. Skills information from the EGFSN, the SLMRU and the Regional Skills Fora will feed into the work of the Council.
Co-operation between employers and the education and training system has proven to be crucial in developing effective responses to skills needs, and this co-operation is being strengthened through the Further and Higher education and training systems, including via the new Regional Skills Fora put in place by the Department of Education and Skills to connect employers, enterprise development agencies and education and training providers.
The Governments Action Plan for Jobs has proven to be an effective mechanism for coordinated cross government action focused on job creation and on creating an environment that is conducive to entrepreneurship, investment and enterprise growth. The existing process will continue to ensure the required focus on the achievement of sustainable full employment on an annual basis in the context of considerable international uncertainty.
The ambition in Enterprise 2025 is to achieve sustainable full employment by 2020. The required actions to achieve sustainable full employment were set out in Enterprise 2025, in terms of building the resilience of the enterprise base through productivity, innovation and market diversification. These are to be delivered by DJEI and the enterprise development agencies and also by a number of government departments that have a role to play in ensuring we have a supportive and internationally differentiated business environment.
The delivery of the right skills and talent is essential for the in terms of building up the enterprise base and the Department of Enterprise and Innovation will continue to work closely with the Department of Education and Skills to ensure a supply of the right skills which will support continued job creation and productivity growth. Enterprise also has an important role to play investing in the skills development of its workforce aligned to their strategic business plan.
