Nuala Fennell
Ceist:13 Mrs. Fennell asked the Minister for Labour if he has any plans to increase the resources available for management development and training in Ireland in 1992, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Management Training and Development.
At present, the Department fund management development and training through the training support scheme, which is administered by FÁS under the industrial restructuring programme, and through the annual State grant to the Irish Management Institute (IMI). The training support scheme aims to assist small and medium-sized industries improve their competitiveness in the context of the Single European Market. Grants are paid for training in key skills which can increase competitiveness in areas such as strategic planning, management, production, technology and marketing. In 1991, total expenditure under the scheme came to more than £4 million.
Over the past five years the IMI have received over £1.5 million pounds in Exchequer funding towards their management training activities. In recent years, the level of the grant has been reduced gradually in accordance with the report of the Advisory Committee on Management Training (Galvin committee) which recommended that State funding of management development should be directed towards the users of management training rather than the providers.
The Department of Labour, together with the EC Commission and the IMI, have funded during the past year the "Year of the Manager Campaign" aimed at increasing the awareness, on the part of enterprises, of the contribution of management development to business development. The developments I have mentioned are additional to management education, training and development undertaken in the educational system. Finally, I would like to emphasise the point that primary responsibility for management training rests with enterprises themselves.
Would the Minister not agree that good management is at the root of good business? As many industries are closing down and are not able to compete at present, have the Department any intention of increasing funding and resources for management training?
I agree with the original statement of the Deputy that good management makes for good business. My experience has been that if there is bad management we generally hear about it through the collapse of the business. An important philosophic change with regard to funding of management effort was brought about as a result of the Galvin committee which I mentioned, namely, that the user should be funded rather than the provider. That is being adhered to and should result in an improvement in the quality of management education.