Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2021
280. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the extent to which he expects Irish graduates at technical and academic level to be sufficient to meet demand arising from accelerated economic growth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37117/21]
View answer291. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the extent to which his Department interacts with the various professionals at academic and technical levels with a view to determining the higher level requirements in the future; the extent to which it is anticipated to meet market demands arising therefrom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37128/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 280 and 291 together.
Continuing to develop a highly skilled workforce is one of my Department’s core strategic goals and ensuring this will be key to recovery and to Ireland’s future economic and social transformation.
This is not just about young people or young learners. Having the right skills approaches in the workplace, as well as in third level institutions across the country, is what will underpin performance, productivity, profits, outcomes, human capability and, crucially, people’s sense of purpose and wellbeing.
A fundamental principle in achieving that goal is engagement with stakeholders - including enterprise and education and training providers.
The National Skills Council is one of the key partnership structures for my Department. It is made up of high level representatives from the public and private sectors, including from enterprise, from the Higher Education Authority and from Education and Training Boards Ireland. The Council aims to bring together “the various inputs to prioritisation of provision to meet skills demands… to oversee research, advise on the prioritisation of identified skills needs and on how to secure delivery of identified needs… [and to take a key] role in promoting and reporting on the delivery of responses by education and training providers to those priorities.” The Council is currently chaired by Bob Savage, Vice President, Regional Chief Information Officer for EMEA and Cork Site Leader Dell Technologies.
Recent meetings have invited speakers from private enterprise, the EU Commission and the OECD. Topics discussed recently include the impact of COVID-19 on the future world of work, remote working and regional development. Labour market intelligence and skills forecasting entities, including the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit of SOLAS and the National Training Fund Advisory Group, inform the discussions of the Council.
In addition, the network of Regional Skills Fora seek to bring people together at local and regional level, to identify, interrogate and validate skills needs, and to ensure that employers / enterprise are linked to the right places, to get responses they need. The Fora provide hugely valuable bottom-up information and insights, which feed into the work of the NSC, and the broader work to ensure that we have a skills agenda, at national level, that is evidence-informed and is serving its purpose for people across the country.
The education system needs to be agile and responsive and the needs of all sectors must be considered. It will be important to move away from the concept of “low skilled” jobs. These are the jobs that kept the country going during the pandemic, we now need to look at ways to build on the skills of the people in those sectors to ensure that they have sustainable skills for employment. It will be important to equip people with technical skills but also with the social and emotional skills to help them navigate the change.
In order to mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic and to make the Irish economy and society more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions, investing in lifelong learning and skills development for the future world of work, via opportunities that are modular, flexible and in blended formats and that can be combined to attain full qualifications are priorities for my Department.
The Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 was launched on 19th April and sets out a five year plan which sets out new ways of structuring, funding, and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeship accessible to employers and learners. The actions set out in the plan seek to deliver on a target of 10,000 apprenticeship registrations per annum by 2025. The Plan promotes access, diversity and inclusion in apprenticeship by offering targeted supports to encourage participation from young people and under-represented groups such as women, those with disabilities and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Budget 2021 provided for almost €200m funding from the NTF for apprenticeship. This included the cost of the Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme from Jan-Jun 2021 as well as €12m towards additional measures designed to reduce the waiting lists arising from Covid-19 measures within the apprenticeship system. In addition €20M in capital expenditure has been allocated to SOLAS and the HEA to facilitate an additional 4,000 craft apprenticeship places across the system in the coming period.
Further Education and Training (FET) provides a diverse range of programmes and supports designed to meet the needs of individuals at different stages of the learning pathway. Courses focused on foundation or transversal skills development, including literacy and numeracy and digital skills, build the core capabilities that allow participants to move on to more advanced learning opportunities. A range of programmes are focused more formally on facilitating pathways to other education and training opportunities and often bridge the gap between foundational learning and accessing vocationally focused programmes. These vocational programmes focus on providing skills that enable direct progression to the workplace, while also enabling pathways into higher education. Vocational programmes typically have a strong work-based component. This is strongest in the areas of apprenticeship, where learners are employed by companies from the outset of the programme.
Skills to Advance
Launched in 2018 by SOLAS, Skills to Advance is an employee development policy framework which enables targeted support for vulnerable groups in the Irish workforce, with a particular focus on employees who have lower skills levels and who need more opportunities to in their working lives and careers, to sustain their employment and to avoid displacement or to avail of emerging job opportunities. The policy also supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who need assistance to invest in and develop their workforce. Skills to Advance is delivered through the network of 16 Education and Training Boards located around Ireland. A total of 10,318 participants took part in the Skills to Advance in 2020. The provisional figure for individuals participating in 2021 is 9,059.
Skills to Compete
In response to the urgent need for activation, upskilling and reskilling as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, SOLAS – in partnership with the Department of Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS), Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) and the 16 ETBs, and with input from the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) and industry representatives – has developed the Skills to Compete initiative. This initiative is delivered through ETBs, including through contracted training, and works in tandem with INTREO offices, Regional Skills Fora, and Enterprise Ireland to effectively target individuals who may have been displaced from their employment as a result of Covid-19. Courses offered under the initiative are built around three key priorities: delivering the essential skills required for modern workplaces; building strong digital skills; and developing the specific vocational skills to secure opportunities in growing sectors and occupations. There have been over 11,000 enrolments on Skills to Compete programmes to date.
eCollege
SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority of Ireland, has significantly increased the capacity of its online service, eCollege. eCollege is now available free of charge as a support to any citizen who has been impacted by the current containment measures. eCollege provides online courses, including computer programming, data science, office productivity and web and graphic design. eCollege is online 24/7 so people can study at any time that suits them. There were a total of 33,281 eCollege enrolments in 2020 and over 13,000 learners had enrolled in eCollege as of the end of Q1 2021
Higher Education
Upskilling and reskilling provision in higher education is available through Springboard+, HCI Pillar 1 and July Stimulus Initiatives.
There is a combined total of 13,444 places on 408 courses available in the 2021/22 academic year under Springboard+ 2021 and HCI Pillar 1. This year, there is a broad range of courses, including courses in areas of new and emerging technologies such Cybersecurity, and Virtual Reality. In addition, there are programmes in areas which have come to the fore as result of Covid-19 such as Health Innovation, Logistics and Online Retail
Under the July Stimulus package, funding of €15m provided 11,597 places on 538 Modular courses in 32 higher education institutions in 2020. A further 4,119 places are being made available on these courses in 2021. All courses are shorter and more focused and offered in a flexible manner, allowing people to gain important skills without taking a considerable period away from the labour market. They represent a new route into lifelong learning, and provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities for those who need it, while ensuring that they remain close to the labour market.
