State plan to upskill 500,000 by 2020
A €2.8bn plan to upskill 500,000 workers by 2020 will be ready by the summer, the Government will be announced today.
The implementation plan will be drawn up by senior officials from government departments who will prepare targets for each sector with provision for annual review.
A key requirement will be to make it easier for adults in the workforce to take part in further education and training.
It will involve FAS, employers and employees, the universities, institutes of technology, VECs, adult education organisations and other agencies, in what is the biggest co-ordinated and integrated effort yet in education and training.
The plan will set out how to implement, in detail, last year's skills strategy from the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs.
The group will shortly issue new recommendations on paid learning-leave, one of the key issues for workers who want to upgrade their skills. Last year, it had recommended that those with poor qualifications should be able to return to education, either full-time or part-time, without incurring tuition costs. They should also have a level of assistance, provided by the State where appropriate, it said.
The expert group is also examining the concept of individual learning accounts for employees, as well as the notion of "brokerage" services to help firms identify upskilling needs and source suitable training.
In addition, it is looking at the potential of regional advisory groups to co-ordinate efforts at a more local level.
The plan will be prepared by an implementation committee comprising senior officials from the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Education and Science. It will be chaired by Minister for Lifelong Learning Sean Haughey.
He told the Irish Independent that while State agencies had a significant role to play, it was crucial that businesses and workers were made fully aware of their own responsibilities. Programmes were needed that were either flexible or built into the work routine.
Easier
"It must be easier for people to participate in further education and training. At the same time, employers need to realise the economic benefit of highly trained workers, and people need to realise the benefits that an investment in training can make, to their employability and their personal development," he said.
As well as upskilling half a million workers, the skills strategy also wants to increase the percentage of young people staying in education to Leaving Certificate level and beyond.
- John Walshe Education Editor
