Preasráitis
Ministers publish the National Training Fund Expenditure Report 2019
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
The Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh TD, the Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, and the Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD, today published the National Training Fund Expenditure Report 2019.
The National Training Fund (NTF) was established by the National Training Fund Act 2000 to raise the skills of those in employment, to give jobseekers relevant skills and to facilitate lifelong learning.
The report shows how over €485 million is being invested in programmes in 2019 which meet the skill need of the economy, support unemployed people in their journey back to work and assist those in employment to acquire new skills. This includes the expansion of the apprenticeship and traineeship schemes, additional investment in Springboard and additional support to increase skills for those in employment through Skillnet Ireland.
The 2018 NTF allocations represented a major shift in the focus of expenditure from the Fund. Programmes were more tightly focused on labour market skill needs across higher education, further education and training and other partners. As this report shows, this shift has continued in 2019 and a number of steps have already been taken to align with the recommendations set out in a review of the Fund, published in August 2018. €485.6 million will be invested through the Fund in 2019 to support skills (up by €70m since 2018), including:
This additional investment will see us expand apprenticeship registrations by 1,200, increase the number of trainees by 1,100, Springboard participants by 1,100, and Skillnet participants by 7,400.
Following a consultation process, the government, as part of Budget 2018, decided to raise the rate of the National Training Fund levy by 0.1% in 2018 to 0.8% and by a further 0.1% in both 2019 and 2020 on the basis of the implementation of planned reforms. The independent review of the National Training Fund, undertaken by Indecon Consulting, examined the existing operation of the NTF and provided recommendations to inform its future direction.
There are 14 recommendations across the following 4 key areas:
An Implementation Plan to deliver these recommendations was published as part of Budget 2019 along with details of a new NTF advisory group to secure employer input into the strategic direction of the Fund by submitting recommendations to the National Skills Council on NTF priorities. The advisory group is being chaired by Mr Liam Ryan, Managing Director, SAP Labs Ireland and member of National Skills Council and includes representatives from the enterprise sector, government departments and agencies.
Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh TD, said:
“The publication of the National Training Fund Expenditure Report 2019 demonstrates my department’s continued commitment to the ongoing reform of the Fund, including enhancing enterprise engagement and input.”
Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, said:
“I welcome this report, which highlights the capacity of the NTF to contribute to funding reform in the Higher Education Sector with a move to fund mainstream enterprise focused higher education programmes that are producing graduates to meet identified areas of skill need.”
Minister for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD, said:
“The report shows the significant increased investment in apprenticeships and traineeships in order to meet our 2016 commitment to more than double the number of annual apprenticeship and traineeship enrolments to 14,000 by 2020 and to expand into a range of new areas.”
The report can be accessed on the Department for Education and Skills website at the following link: National Training Fund Expenditure Report 2019.
ENDS
The 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 creation of the fund was announced in Budget 2000 by the then Minister for Finance to raise the skills of those in employment, to give jobseekers relevant skills and to facilitate lifelong learning. The NTF replaced the Apprenticeship Levy which was set up under The Industrial Training (Apprenticeship Levy) Act 1994. In May 2010, responsibility for the NTF was transferred from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation to the Minister for Education and Skills.
Following a consultation process, the government, as part of Budget 2018, decided to raise the rate of the National Training Fund (NTF) levy by 0.1% in 2018 to 0.8% and by a further 0.1% in both 2019 and 2020.
This measure allows for additional expenditure of €47.5 million from the NTF in 2018 and €70 million in 2019 under the EU fiscal rules.
Following issues raised by employers during a consultation process with them a number of key reforms to the NTF were introduced to make it more responsive to employer needs and to give employers a greater say in informing priorities for the Fund.
The increases in the NTF levy take account of the benefit to employers of having access to skilled graduates across further education and training and higher education to meet their identified skills needs as well as being able to access training for their current employees.
The independent review of the National Training Fund, undertaken by Indecon Consulting, examined the existing operation of the NTF and provided recommendations to inform its future direction.
Link to full NTF Review: Indecon Review of National Training Fund.
Link to Implementation Plan: Review of National Training Fund Implementation Plan.