Here is a selection of people starting new roles with companies in Ireland, including law firm Philip Lee, IT firm Paradyn, media sales house IRS+, PR firm FH, digital state agency OpenSky, the Law Reform Commission and marketing group Core Sponsorship.

The report also shows that a third of all those unemployed aged 25 and under have attained only lower secondary education

New figures show that of Traveller enrolments in further education programmes last year, more than 40% said they had previously only completed primary level at most.

Half a million adults in Ireland have problems reading and writing, and even more have difficulty doing basic maths.

When Bill Laukitis searched for a suitable symbol to celebrate his wedding, his thoughts turned to beer.

School-leavers choosing apprenticeships has doubled in the last three years, up to 16,000 from 8,300 in 2015.

Starting a new career in your mid-50s can deliver an inspirational new lease of life, says Niall Murphy, who is enjoying a fulfilling career as a culinary instructor.

41% of people aged between 50 and 59 who are employed have the equivalent of a Leaving Cert or less.

A new report shows that the Youthreach programme has helped early school-leavers to either progress onto other forms of education or get a job and is a factor in diverting some people from substance abuse and crime.

FURTHER training and education authority Solas is engaging with home-based women to encourage them to consider retraining to fill a growing number of vacancies across all sectors.

218,000 women between the ages of 20 and 64 are currently not participating in the workforce.

Last week’s gorgeous weather got me thinking about rosé and the ripe fruity wines of the sunny South of France.

So how much do I love Dingle? Enough to pass up a week-long tour of Rioja so I could spend three days there helping to judge products at the Blás na hÉireann awards and to attend the Dingle Food Festival.

Opening up more courses to workers through links between employers and training agencies forms part of a plan to help businesses adapt to changing times.

Funding for post-Leaving Certificate courses will depend on their ability to match the staffing needs of local employers, under proposed new regulation of the sector.

The operation of a €10m fund for college students with disabilities is to be reformed to ensure more people benefit and with fewer delays.

The National Youth Council of Ireland has called for a €30 million package to tackle the high rate of youth unemployment after EU figures showed almost a fifth of young Irish people are not in education, work or training.

Leaving Certificate exam setters have reversed their view that JobBridge is not aimed at creating employment — but only after it became clear that hundreds of students believe it is.

TIME was when the traditional Irish thatched cottage was associated with rural poverty. Then, there was a change in perception when photographer John Hinde — a man who always portrayed Ireland as a land of perpetual sunshine and blue skies — came along. His postcards featuring such cottages went all over the world.

Fears that upskilling courses could be privatised and ‘dumbed down’ as a cash-saving measure have prompted a threat of industrial action by the Teachers’ Union of Ireland.

New leaked files from Edward Snowden seem to show that UK authorities have tapped the underwater cables that carry data from Ireland to the UK and beyond.

With jobs still at a premium across the sector, many skilled construction workers are accepting as little as the minimum wage in order to secure work in the trade.

Schools are still waiting to find out if they will get Department of Education funding for repairs this year or if they will have to ask hard-pressed parents to pay the maintenance bills instead.

The Government says it will not allow staff at Irish Water to operate outside of Ireland's ethics laws.

The public standards watchdog said it is worried about the number of public bodies it cannot control.

The Department of Education has published the country’s first National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development, 2014-2020, which will allow young people more input in shaping the education sector.

Karan Casey’s sixth solo album, Two More Hours, is her first of entirely self-penned songs.

The provision of courses to match skills needs of the economy are among the top priorities in a five-year strategy for the €800m-a-year further education and training sector.

One of the country’s most controversial quangos, Fás, was forced into a substantial tax settlement before it closed down late last year.

Hundreds of teachers have threatened to use all options “including strike action” in a bid to derail Education Minister Ruairi Quinn’s plans for some to work throughout summer as part of a new year-long further education system.

The growing mountain of paperwork involved in running schools that have no proper management structures is putting student-focused reforms at risk, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has been warned.

The Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn, has announced his intention to appoint Pat Delaney as the Chairperson of SOLAS.

Sixteen new Education and Training Boards will be established today to replace the 33 VEC's across the country.

FOR fiddle virtuoso Martin Hayes, every Masters of Tradition festival in Bantry, West Cork, is special, so how to celebrate its 10th anniversary?

Ireland’s hospitality sector faces a shortage of trained craft and entry-level workers following the axing of Fáilte Ireland’s training programme, the newly elected President of the Irish Hotels Federation, Michael Vaughan, said.

MORE courses offered by private companies and less funding for hobby courses could form part of the overhaul of further education and training in the replacement of Fás.