Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 February 2022
198. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he and his Department continue to liaise with the educational sector in order to ensure the ready supply of suitably qualified employees for a competitive workplace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7329/22]
View answerMy Department and I are aware that it is essential that Irish enterprise has access to high quality, adaptable and flexible talent. In order to meet this demand, my Department and its enterprise agencies work closely with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, as well as the wider education and training system, with a view to building and retaining a highly skilled indigenous workforce to serve the needs of the economy.
My Department and its enterprise agencies actively participate in Ireland’s responsive national skills "architecture", which aims to ensure that education and training provision is optimally aligned with identified skills needs across the enterprise base.
My Department hosts the Secretariat to the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), the independent group which advises the Government on the current and future skills needs of Ireland’s economy, and whose membership includes relevant Government Departments, the enterprise development agencies, Ireland’s agencies for Higher Education and Further Education and Training, and representation from the trade union and business communities. The EGFSN forms a key part of this responsive skills architecture.
Through its horizon scanning and thematic studies at sectoral and occupational level, the development of which involves comprehensive engagement with stakeholders across the public sector, enterprise and the education and training system, the work of the EGFSN- together with the labour market intelligence of the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit in SOLAS- helps inform the work of the National Skills Council, which is comprised of the chief skills policy stakeholders from across the public and private sectors.
The membership of this Council, which is serviced by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, includes the Secretary General of my Department, as well as the Chief Executives of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. The Council advises on the allocation of resources to address identified and emerging skills needs across the economy, in particular through the National Training Fund, while also working to maximise the responses to these needs by education and training providers.
The work of the Council is also informed by the activities of the network of nine Regional Skills Fora, which work to address the skills needs of regional enterprise by enhancing linkages and engagement between local education and training providers and employers, and by helping employers better understand and access the full range of services available across the education and training system. Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the relevant Local Enterprise Offices are represented on each of the nine Fora, and advocate on behalf of their respective client companies.
The Fora in particular have facilitated Enterprise Ireland’s Spotlight on Skills workshops, a partnership with the Irish Management Institute, which continue to support employers in understanding and planning for the skills needs of their enterprises, and through subsequent engagement with the Regional Skills Manager, address these needs through local education and training providers. Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland also engage on an ongoing basis with education and training providers on behalf of their client companies, and have worked to develop bespoke provision in recent years to meet emerging skills needs, in particular through new Apprenticeship, Skillnet Ireland and Education and Training Board programmes.
