Five-year training sector plan unveiled

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.

The landmark strategy should bring formal structures to a sector with more than 200,000 learners for the first time. Launching the strategy developed by Solas, the authority set up to oversee the sector, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said further education and training (FET) has a vital role to play in ensuring people are able to find work and be paid for it.

“As our economy recovers, we need to ensure that people, particularly the unemployed, have the ‘job- ready’ skills needed to compete for an increasing number of new jobs coming on stream,” said Mr Quinn.