Skillnets beats target with almost 50,000 training days provided in 2013

Skillnets, the Government-funded agency tasked with addressing businesses’ skills shortages, provided almost 50,000 training days to unemployed jobseekers and helped reskill thousands of company employees last year, according to a newly published independent evaluation.

The study published yesterday indicates that Skillnets exceeded the targets set for it by the Department of Education and Skills, through which it is funded, while remaining within budget.

Net expenditure was slightly more than €23m in 2013 — 74% of which was spent on the agency’s Training Networks Programme aimed at supporting a range of industries and particularly popular among SMEs.