From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
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Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD and Minister of State for Skills and Further Education Niall Collins TD today (Tuesday, 24 November) met with the National Skills Council to discuss opportunities to better link enterprise and industry with further and higher education.
The Skills Council, which has a broad range of members including the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, briefed the Ministers on the needs of enterprise and industry, including those that have arisen in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the workforce.
Speaking after the meeting, Minister Harris said:
"Nobody could have foreseen just how far-reaching the impacts of the global pandemic would be. All of us had to adapt rapidly to it.
"However, in many ways the pandemic has accelerated trends that were already there. The future we had foreseen and predicted is here with us now. So how do we respond to this? How do we prepare our people, our economy, our infrastructure, our places of work and learning, to navigate a changed world and accommodate that future that has landed on our doorsteps?
"That is the challenge for Minister Collins and I as we move into 2021 and it will require a whole of Government approach.
"This requires a strategy for the future, investment in our infrastructure and, crucially, investment in our people to develop expertise, skills and qualifications across multiple disciplines.
"We have an opportunity now to deepen collaboration between the higher and further education sectors so that they work hand in glove with one another – but also with the industry and enterprise sectors, and I look forward to working with the Skills Council to do so."
Minister Collins added:
"There is a requirement now for Minister Harris and I to make the case to Government colleagues that investment in the skills needs of industry and the workforce is an essential part of our recovery in the wake of COVID-19.
"We must ensure the investment we have made in skills will match the needs of industry in this globalised economy. It is clear to me that Ireland’s capacity to be successful will depend upon being digitally smart and innovative, and creating a national education platform across education, research and engagement."
ENDS
The National Skills Council provides a mechanism to mediate demands across the full range of needs identified through the research and analysis conducted under its direction. The members of the Council are drawn from senior levels in the public and private sector.
Membership, meeting documents and minutes are available at: https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/7637e6-national-skills-council/