Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 December 2007
153 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the achievements to date of the Expert Group on Future Skills; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33119/07]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government established the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) in 1997 to provide advice on Ireland's future skills requirements and make recommendations as to how those needs could be met.
The EGFSN is an independent advisory body appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in consultation with the Minister for Education and Science. It reports to both Ministers. The group is broadly representative of social partnership, with members from enterprise, academia, government departments, and employer and worker organisations. The EGFSN operates under the auspices of Forfás which provides research and secretariat support to it.
In 2001, a Skills and Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU) was established in FÁS to provide additional research capability to the Group on an ongoing basis. The SLMRU operate a National Skills Database on behalf of the EGFSN. This database contains demand and supply side data including employment indicators, vacancy data, economic immigration statistics and education and training supply data. The current mandate of the Group runs from 2007 to 2009.
The work of the EGFSN is undertaken at two levels: economy wide and sector specific. The early work of the Group focused on sector level skills forecasting. Sectors examined to date include ICT, Biotechnology, Food Processing, and Engineering. More recently, the work of the Group has examined horizontal skills issues facing enterprise across all sectors. These include management development, research, in-company training and careers and labour market information and dissemination. A listing of work undertaken to date is in the appendix below.
In 2005, the EGFSN undertook research to underpin the development of the new economic migration regulations that were introduced in January 2007. This work was published in Skills Needs of the Irish Economy: the Role of Migration. The EGFSN continues to review the skills requirements of the economy that can be met through migration on an ongoing basis and informs policy development in that area.
Last year, the EGFSN undertook extensive research to underpin the development of the national skills strategy. The resulting publication — Tomorrow's Skills: Towards a National Skills Strategy — was launched in March of this year and outlines strategic objectives from a skills perspective in the period to 2020.
Current studies being undertaken by the EGFSN include: Skills Needs of the Medical Devices Sector, Skills and Research Needs of the Financial Services Sector, High Level ICT Skills in the ICT Sector and Skills and Labour Requirements of the Construction Sector. All of these studies are being undertaken in close collaboration with the different interest groupings involved.
In 2008, the EGFSN will continue to support the work of both Government Departments in implementing the National Skills Strategy and it will also report on progress in this regard. The EGFSN has also established links with the Skills Expert Group in Northern Ireland and at my request is organising an All-Island Skills Conference for 2008. Research for an all-island statement on skills demand is currently underway.
The mandate governing the EGFSN was reviewed and revised earlier this year. A Group was appointed this year and current membership and the interests that they represent are indicated in the appendix below.
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Current Membership of Expert Group on Future Skills Needs |
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Chairperson: Ms Anne Heraty, Chief Executive, CPL Resources |
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Ms. Ruth Carmody, Assistant Secretary, Department of Education and Science |
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Ms. Liz Carroll, Training and Development Manager, ISME |
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Mr. Enda Connolly, Divisional Manager, IDA Ireland |
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Mr. Fergal Costello, Head of IoT Designation, Higher Education Authority |
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Mr. Ned Costello, Chief Executive, Irish Universities Association |
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Mr. Brendan Ellison, Principal Officer, Department of Finance |
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Mr. Roger Fox, Director of Planning and Research, FÁS |
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Mr. David Hedigan, Manager, Enterprise Ireland |
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Mr. Garry Keegan, Director, Acumen |
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Mr. John Martin, Director for Employment, Labour & Social Affairs, OECD |
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Mr. Dermot Mulligan Assistant Secretary, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment |
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Mr. Pat Hayden Principal Officer, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment |
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Mr. Brendan Murphy, Director, Cork Institute of Technology |
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Mr. Alan Nuzum, CEO, Skillnets |
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Ms. Aileen O’Donoghue, Director of Financial Services Ireland, IBEC |
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Ms. Mary O’Leary, School Teacher |
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Mr. Peter Rigney, Industrial Officer, ICTU |
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Ms. Jacinta Stewart, Chief Executive, City of Dublin VEC |
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Mr. Martin Shanahan, Head of Human Capital and Labour Market Policy, Forfás |
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The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs has published the following reports since 1997. |
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|---|---|
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Report |
Date of Publication |
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National Skills Bulletin |
October 2007 |
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Monitoring Ireland’s Skills Supply: Trends in Education/Training Outputs |
June 2007 |
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Tomorrow’s Skills: Towards a National Skills Strategy |
March 2007 |
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National Skills Bulletin 2006 |
December 2006 |
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Future Skills Requirements of the International Digital Media Industry: Implications for Ireland |
July 2006 |
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Careers and Labour Market Information in Ireland |
July 2006 |
|
Skills at Regional Level in Ireland |
May 2006 |
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SME Management Development in Ireland |
May 2006 |
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Monitoring Ireland’s Skills Supply: Trends in Educational/Training Outputs |
January 2006 |
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Data Analysis of In-Employment Education and Training in Ireland |
January 2006 |
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National Skills Bulletin 2005 |
October 2005 |
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Skills Needs in the Irish Economy: The Role of Migration |
October 2005 |
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Languages and Enterprise |
May 2005 |
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Skills Requirements of the Digital Content Industry in Ireland Phase I |
February 2005 |
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Innovate Market Sell |
November 2004 |
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The Supply and Demand for Researchers and Research Personnel |
September 2004 |
|
Literature Review on Aspects of Training of those at Work in Ireland |
June 2004 |
|
Financial Skills Monitoring Report |
November 2003 |
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Responding to Ireland’s Growing Skills Needs — The Fourth Report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs |
October 2003 |
|
The Demand and Supply of Skills in the Biotechnology Sector |
September 2003 |
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Skills Monitoring Report — Construction Industry 2003/10 |
July 2003 |
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Benchmarking Education and Training for Economic Development in Ireland |
July 2003 |
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The Demand and Supply of Engineers and Engineering Technicians |
June 2003 |
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The Demand and Supply of Skills in the Food Processing Sector |
April 2003 |
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National Survey of Vacancies in the Private Non-Agricultural Sector 2001/2002 |
March 2003 |
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National Survey of Vacancies in the Public Sector 2001/2002 |
March 2003 |
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The Irish Labour Market: Prospects for 2002 and Beyond |
January 2002 |
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Labour Participation Rates of the over 55s in Ireland |
December 2001 |
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The Third Report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs — Responding to Ireland’s Growing Skills Needs |
August 2001 |
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Benchmarking Mechanisms and Strategies to Attract Researchers to Ireland |
July 2001 |
|
Report on E-Business Skills |
August 2000 |
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Report on In-Company Training |
August 2000 |
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The Second Report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs — Responding to Ireland’s Growing Skills Needs |
March 2000 |
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Business Education and Training Partnership 2nd Forum, Dublin |
March 2000 |
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Business Education and Training PartnershipReport on the Inaugural Forum, Royal Hospital Kilmainham |
March 1999 |
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The First Report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs — Responding to Ireland’s Growing Skills Needs |
December 1998 |
