July 2023
Price: €125 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference focused on next steps for skills and apprenticeship provision in Ireland.
It was timed to follow the publication of the OECD’s Skills Strategy Ireland: Assessment and Recommendations, and we are pleased to have been able to include a keynote session with the project leader, Bart Staats, Policy Analyst, OECD.
The report highlighted that Ireland lags behind EU leaders in lifelong learning participation, and also raised concerns over labour and skills gaps.
Key stakeholders and policymakers assessed key priorities for taking forward the DFHERIS National Skills Strategy 2025 - Ireland’s Future, in light of the OECD’s recommendations.
They discussed the way forward for skills development and apprenticeships, and how key challenges for delivery can be addressed in areas including:
- tackling skills shortages and diversifying skills supply
- increasing the appeal and uptake of apprenticeships and lifelong learning, and improving inclusivity
- effectively utilising skills to strengthen business performance
- developing effective governance of skills systems in Ireland
Delegates examined next steps for apprenticeship provision in Ireland in light of the DFHERIS’s Action Plan for Apprenticeships, looking at the way forward for increasing their appeal and uptake, both for employers and employees, and improving accessibility to apprenticeships at all ages.
Further sessions assessed the work of the National Skills Council’s Regional Skills Fora, and how businesses, employers, education providers and wider stakeholders can further engage with strategies to better address skills imbalances and shortages, reflect Ireland’s current labour market, and contribute to sustainable economic growth.
Sessions in the agenda included:
- OECD recommendations: taking forward the findings of the OECD skills project for Ireland - translating findings into policy development and implementation
- priorities for key sectors: key areas for future skills growth in Ireland - priorities for the digital sector, advanced manufacturing, and creative industries
- Regional Skills Fora: how stakeholder voices can best be used to inform future policy direction
- a joined-up skills ecosystem: links between FE, HE, and business - employer engagement in skills development - addressing skills shortages - inclusivity in skills development
- a culture of ongoing skills development: upskilling and re-skilling - the appeal and funding of apprenticeships - involving stakeholders in a lifelong approach that extends beyond the workplace
- policy: developing the governance of skills systems - looking ahead to skills strategy beyond 2025
The conference was an opportunity for the stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who attended from the Department for the Economy, NI; Department of Education, NI; DFHERIS; Department of Health, NI; Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform; Department of Social Protection; Department for Transport; and HSE.
