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The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Micheál Martin TD, and the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin TD, today(6 March 2007) jointly launched a new national skills strategy, Tomorrow’s Skills: Towards a National Skills Strategy. The Strategy was preparedby the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN). It identifies Ireland’s current skills profile, provides a strategic vision and specific objectives for Ireland’s future skills requirements, and sets out a road map for how the vision and objectives can be achieved. The implementation of the Strategy will help to secure the future competitive advantage of enterprises in Ireland and enhance future growth in productivity and living standards.
For the first time the Strategy sets out clear long-term objectives for our education and training requirements to develop Ireland as a knowledge-based, innovation-driven, participative and inclusive economy with a highly skilled workforce by 2020. The Expert Group believes this vision is achievable. The Expert Group recommends that 93 percent of the Irish labour force should have qualifications at, or above, leaving certificate level by 2020, and that 48 percent should have a third or fourth-level qualification by then.
Minister Martin said, “This report provides a comprehensive vision for Ireland’s future skills requirements and also provides a strategic framework from which the relevant Government Departments and State Agencies can build. The strategy launched today is complementary to the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation launched in 2006.”
Minister Hanafin said, “The report identifies central challenges in ensuring a continuing supply of the skills needed for our future competitiveness and prosperity. It brings into sharp focus the long-term importance of many elements of the policies we are pursuing to advance access, participation, quality and attainment at all levels of the education system.”
Anne Heraty, Chairperson of the EGFSN said, “To date education and training policy has served Ireland well. Ireland now has an opportunity to drive economic development through building our skills capability. This report provides an overarching policy framework for the development of coherent education and training strategies to meet current and future skills needs.”
Ends
For further information please
contact:
Máirin Delaney, Communications
Department, Forfás Tel:
(01) 6073020 / (087) 2319471,
or
Martin
Shanahan, Forfás/Expert
Group on Future Skills Needs
Tel: (01) 6073133.
Notes to Editors
The Expert Group
on Future Skills Needs is
a body appointed by the
Irish Government, under
the aegis of Forfás,
to act as the central
national resource on skills
and labour supply issues
for the enterprise sector,
and on overall strategy
for enterprise training
in Ireland. The Group
was established in 1997
and is composed of representatives
of business, employees,
education, Government
departments and state
agencies.
Anne Heraty is the Chairperson of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs. She is also founder and CEO of CPL Resources Ltd. http://www.skillsireland.ie
Forfás is
Ireland’s national board
responsible for providing policy
advice to Government on enterprise,
trade, science, technology
and innovation in Ireland.
Among Forfás’ functions
are: industrial policy development
and co-ordination of State
bodies such as IDA Ireland
and Enterprise Ireland; the
promotion of scientific research
and innovation in close association
with Science Foundation Ireland
and the Advisory Council on
Science, Technology and Innovation;
and research, analysis and
policy advice on competitiveness
and economic development, through
the National Competitiveness
Council and the Expert Group
on Future Skills Needs.
http://www.forfas.ie
The research which underpins this report was led by Forfás.
Background papers were prepared by:
The full text of this report and background documents is available at www.skillsstrategy.ie
The report uses the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) as a basis for its projection. The NFQ comprises ten levels of qualifications, with each level based on nationally agreed standards, skills and competence. These standards define the learning outcomes to be achieved by learners seeking qualifications at each level. The ten levels include qualifications gained in settings from schools, to places of work, the community, training centres and to colleges and universities, from the most basic to the most advanced levels of learning. Information on the NFQ is www.nfq.ie
©2006 EGFSN The
Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, Wilton Park House, Wilton Place, Dublin
2, Ireland. Tel: +353 (0)1 607 3116