Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 February 2024
201. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which this country’s workforce continues to have the increased skills necessary to meet modern market requirements; the extent to which this issue continues to be examined and addressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5979/24]
View answerIreland’s skills development policy is framed by Ireland’s National Skills Strategy 2025, which was published in 2016. This ushered in significant reforms in the education and training sector, resulting in a responsive National Skills Architecture, which aims to ensure that education and training provision is optimally aligned with identified skills needs within the enterprise base. This Strategy has recently been reviewed by the OECD, the recommendations from which will inform the development of a new National Skills Strategy, upon the expiration of the current strategy in 2025.
Ireland’s skills architecture is overseen by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. The architecture draws on the labour market intelligence of the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit of SOLAS and the enterprise skills demand forecast studies of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, the Secretariat for which is based in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. This research informs the work of the National Skills Council. The Council is comprised of the chief skills policy stakeholders from across the public and private sectors and advises on the allocation of resources to address identified and emerging skills needs, 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. In particular, the Fora have facilitated the roll out of the Skills for Growth skills audit tools for regional enterprise, and its Enterprise Ireland strand, Spotlight on Skills workshops, a partnership with the Irish Management Institute, which have supported employers in understanding and planning for the skills needs of their enterprises.
