Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 November 2019
165. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education and Skills the additional contributions to the National Training Fund arising from the increases in the employers NTF levy in each of the years 2018 to 2020 in tabular form; the amount of additional revenue allocated to the higher education sector; and the amount allocated to the further education and training sector. [47241/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Training Fund (NTF) was established by the National Training Fund Act, 2000, as a dedicated fund to support the training of those in employment, and those seeking employment. The Act also provides for the funding of research to provide information on existing and likely future skills requirements of the economy.
The National Training Fund levy has increased from 0.7% to 1.0% between 2018 and 2020. These increases were accompanied by a package of reforms to the Fund. This has allowed for a total annual investment to grow by over €190 million in this timeframe. This additionality can be seen in particular in the following areas:
- The overall Apprenticeship population will have grown by 60% since the end of 2017 to almost 20,000 by the end of 2020.
- The new ETB Skills to Advance programme will provide upskilling to 8,000 people in the workforce by the end of 2020.
- The number of participants in Skillnet Ireland programmes will have increased by over 40% since 2017, reaching 69,000 in 2020.
Since the levy increases were introduced, the NTF has also been deployed to support close-to-labour-market skills programmes in areas of identified skills needs through support for enterprise-focused higher education programmes. The targeted support of these key skill areas from the NTF has facilitated broader investment in higher education from the Department of Education and Skills so that a re-distribution of funding between the NTF and Exchequer in tandem with the levy increases has been implemented on a phased basis.
The following table shows the additional net allocations to Higher Education and Further Education and Training and Skills Development as result of the NTF levy increase. Funding for apprenticeship has been assigned to the further education and training and skills category in the table, although some of this funding ultimately flows to higher education institutions.
|
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
|
The additional contributions to the National Training Fund arising from the increases in the employers NTF levy |
€47.5m |
€69m |
€74m |
|
Additional revenue allocated to the higher education sector from levy increase |
€28m |
€36m |
€29m |
|
Additional revenue allocated to the further education and training and skills sector from levy increase |
€19.5m |
€33m |
€45m |
