Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2021
425. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the reskilling initiatives being considered in order to activate persons to transition from at-risk sectors and unemployment over to the highly successful biopharma, medtech, information and communications technology and foodtech sectors in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36426/21]
View answerSome sectors, occupations and individuals have been impacted by the fallout of the covid pandemic to a greater degree than others. Among these are young people, part time workers, those in the hospitality sector, the lower skilled and those with lower educational attainment.
As the Deputy is aware, as part of the Government’s response to the labour market and skills effects of the pandemic, a range of measures were introduced as a response to upskilling and reskilling needs of individuals and businesses through the July Jobs Stimulus and Budget 2021. These measures are providing 35,000 education and training places to help those who were displaced by the effects of the pandemic. A further 15,000 places were announced as part of the skills package in Budget 2021. Combined these measures include places on the Skills to Complete initiative, additional places through Skillnet supported programmes, funding of the Apprenticeship Incentivisation scheme, the roll-out of retrofit training across the country, additional places through Springboard+ and the Human Capital Initiative, and the expansion of the range of short-duration, part-time and online upskilling and reskilling offerings available for recipients of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
Evidence and research on Ireland’s current and future skills needs and job opportunity indicators are monitored by the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit in SOLAS, on behalf of the National Skills Council, and are summarised annually in the National Skills Bulletin. We know that it is critical that people and businesses can avail of opportunities for developing skills in the way that suits them best, no matter who they are or what sector they are in, in order to overcome these impacts, and that we ensure that our growth as a society is sustainable and inclusive.
Significant work has been undertaken in terms of the potential skills impact of the pandemic across the country and has included a focus on occupations, regions and potential profiles of learners. Upskilling and reskilling opportunities are currently available across many sectors and, through national engagement, scope has been extended to consider the prioritisation of skills.
The Skills to Advance initiative, which enables targeted skills development for vulnerable employees, was developed in response to evolving skill needs and assists those facing changes in their work due to technology advances, changing work practices and market diversification. Opportunities offered through Skills to Advance incorporate digital, socio-emotional and technical skills development to enhance employee skills and support increased productivity in Irish SMEs.
A key feature of Skills to Advance is the identification of skills gaps and needs with employers to develop customised training solutions for their workforce. In addition, specific initiatives are being taken at sectoral and regional level to provide novel upskilling opportunities for those in areas of work at risk of displacement and to reskill people for emerging work opportunities.
There are currently a number of opportunities to develop transferable skillsets in a range of areas to include:
- Leadership and management which provides critical upskilling to support employees in a wide range of sectors.
- Developing Leaders for Hospitality and Tourism which provides upskilling opportunities for team leads and supervisors and a career path to upskill in the sector.
Areas currently being scoped out and developed also include:
- SME Digi-Skills Initiative to boost business performance in SMEs
- Green Skills initiative to provide cross sectoral upskilling opportunities in green skills.
- eCollege is the national further education and training online learning service. eCollege offers very flexible online learning and is ideal for those wishing to study at their own pace around their work and life commitments, and so is a valuable support to those looking to reskill or gain skills to support transition to other sectors. eCollege offers courses in office productivity, business, web and graphic design, computer programming, data science and IT professional subject areas.
In response to the impact of the pandemic on employment levels and the requirement to provide reskilling initiatives, my department has also engaged with Skillnet Ireland who have developed the Skills Connect scheme in partnership with industry. Through Skills Connect, Skillnet Ireland is achieving cross-sector employability by enabling jobseekers secure new employment opportunities in high-growth areas such as medtech manufacturing, cyber security, wind energy, software programming, digital marketing, customer service, and logistics/ warehousing. Skills Connect was introduced in July 2020 as a rapid and agile response to the emerging needs of businesses, regions and impacted workers.
