reforming irish - etbi.ie · screenless display will become a reality, there will be major advances...

AUTUMN2014

REFORMING IRISH APPRENTICESHIP

Responding to the Recession and Building for the Future:

A view from Wales

Creating a Shared Notion

for School Boards of ManagementReflections on Governance

ON THE WIDER BENEFITS OF LEARNING

ETBI Cover Autumn.indd 1 11/09/2014 11:48

Contents

ETBI AUTUMN 2014

The information contained in ETBI

News is, to the best of our knowledge,

accurate at the time of publication. The

views expressed in this magazine do not

necessarily reflect those of ETBI.

Designed by: Design Farm | www.designfarm.ie

Printed by: Fintan Doyle Printing, Church Lane, Baltinglass, Co Wicklow

This magazine is available at

http://www.etbi.ie/category/publications/etbi-news/ if you have difficulty entering any of the links found herein.

Section 1 – News and Views

02 Editorial

03 Get FIT for IT?

08 Creating a Shared Notion on the Wider Benefits of Learning

10 Reflections on Governance for School Boards of Management

12 Getting to know the new Ministers

13 An Update on the Instructional Leadership and Edison Programmes

14 National Emergency Planning in Ireland

17 Wage Setting in the Context of the Crisis

21 Future routes to success- Raising esteem for practical learning

Section 2 – Apprenticeships

23 Reforming Irish Apprenticeship critical both to real FET reform and to ETBs reimagining their future in the shadow of their past

34 Responding to the Recession and Building for the Future: A view from Wales

39 In-company trainer competences by Maria Todorova of the European Commission’s, DG Education and Culture

Section 3 – Leaving Certificate Roundup

43 High Achievers

Section 4 – News and Views

44 iSchoolApp National Rollout

45 LMETB host first Spraoi Mór for 8 Youthreach Centres

46 Foróige and the Education and Training Boards – from a past intertwined to a future full of possibility

48 Pause. Breathe. Be Proactive

50 The Wheel Deal! Formula 24 Success for Maynooth Post-Primary and NUIM

50 DDLETB Training Centre Tallaght recognises the achievement of its Accounting Technicians Ireland learners

51 Cycle Against Suicide cyclists find support in the homes of Donegal

53 My study visit to ETBI by Nives Pokrajcic, Croatian Agency for Vocational Education

54 Music Generation set to become long-term and lasting

55 E-Pathways

10

14

23

ETBI magazine Autumn 2014.indd 1 11/09/2014 11:47

2 ETBI AUTUMN 2014 SECTION 1 | NEWS AND VIEWS

EditorialThis edition of ETBI is issued at

the start of the new year for

students and teachers in schools,

colleges and education centres. New

student cohorts are entering our

second level schools or PLC colleges

as they embark on a new phase of their

student lives.

For many ETBs there will be, however,

a significant difference this year as

they now have responsibility for the

Training Centres which have all recently

transferred from SOLAS. These 16

Training Centres do not operate on the

basis of an academic year; they continue

to take in trainees and provide a full

schedule of training courses over the full

year. For ETBs, there will be challenges

ahead in respect of flexibilities in

delivery, timing and programme type

which will require a rethink and re-

evaluation of the full context of further

education and training.

Significant also is the fact that we

have a new Minister for Education and

Skills, which may or may not herald a

change in policy direction in respect

of some policy issues. The previous

Minister, Ruairí Quinn, was a very

reforming minister. Under his tenure of

the Education and Skills portfolio, the

ETB sector and further education and

training have been totally transformed,

and there have been a raft of reforming

measures affecting schools and

colleges at all levels.

ETBI has welcomed the appointment

of Minister Jan O’Sullivan TD, and

has met her, formally and informally.

She has already demonstrated a

willingness to listen and shown a keen

interest in the issues and concerns

raised by ETBI. It is expected that she

will continue to advance the policy

positions of her predecessor during

the course of her ministry.

One of her most significant challenges

in the position will be the ongoing

issues over Junior Cycle reform. Equally

significant is the need for effective and

efficient middle-management structures

in our schools. Since 2009 school

management capacity has been stripped

to the bone and many schools are now in

a near-crisis situation. ETBI is absolutely

convinced that an entirely new structure

of school management is required, and

we have submitted proposals based

on a model already tried and tested in

New South Wales (Australia). Tackling

this problem now would help restore the

confidence of school management in

their capacity to meet the administrative,

educational and societal challenges they

face on a daily basis.

In association with SOLAS, ETBs are

embarking on a new trajectory in further

education and training. The past year

has been spent building coherence and

a common understanding of respective

roles and functions. The publication of

the SOLAS Further Education Strategy

and the Implementation Plan has set

out the roadmap for this collaborative

approach to the delivery of further


Moreover, both the Review of

Apprenticeship Training in Ireland

(December 2013) and the Strategic

Review of Further Education and

Training (Autumn 2013) clearly

indicate that very significant reform

is imminent in the manner in which

the entirety of further education and

training is managed and delivered in

Ireland. Reform is both needed and

essential to bring FET more in line with

the European norm. Delivery modes

and mechanisms need to be aligned

more closely to the needs of clients,

and herein lie the challenges for all

stakeholders as we seek to move to the

world class FET sector that we all aspire

to achieve. Reform agendas must be

driven by clear purpose and vision, but

we must ensure that key stakeholders

buy into that process and engage fully

in the ongoing reformation of the sector

and its capacity to achieve objectives

and meet targets. Busy times ahead for

ETBI, SOLAS, government and unions.

Chief Executives of ETBs are currently

under real pressure as they struggle

to oversee and manage the yet

unfinished amalgamation process

underpinning the establishment of

ETBs. The amalgamation of two or

more ETBs, merging their separate

staffs and facilities, and the transfer,

in many cases, from SOLAS of one

or more training centres, with their

own separate staffs and different

operational environments, clearly

present management with challenges

of high magnitude. If the ETBs are

to realistically face the challenges of

sectoral reform as well as their statutory

functions, they will need realistic staffing

and leadership resources, new fit-for-

purpose management structures and

staffing capacity at senior level which

can deliver. This is perhaps the clearest

message that ETBI needs to deliver to

policy makers who want the reform of the

Irish education sector to be successfully

implemented. This is an achievable and

realistic objective only if reality underpins

whatever proposals emerge.

Michael Moriarty,

ETBI General Secretary.

By Peter Davitt, Chief Executive Officer of Fastrack to IT (FIT)

'If the ETBs are to realistically face the challenges of sectoral

reform as well as their statutory functions, they will need

realistic staffing and leadership resources, new fit-for-purpose

management structures and staffing capacity at senior level

which can deliver.'


SECTION 1 | NEWS AND VIEWS AUTUMN 2014 ETBI 3

As recent news headlines suggest,

the Irish economy is beginning to

turn a corner and the technology

sector is one of the key drivers of that

growth – so much so that it has to

contend with a serious and growing

skills shortage. Accordingly every young

person, student, unemployed job-

seeker and those wishing to change

careers should give the sector careful

consideration as a career option.

Over the years FIT, in collaboration

with ETBs (previously VECs and FÁS)

has enabled over 12,000 people who

went through its industry developed

further education and training (FET)

courses to secure jobs, having gained

the ICT skills needed in the workplace.

Those who have been successful for

the most part were not geniuses, nor

had they undertaken STEM subjects

or Honours Maths. The majority were

long-term unemployed and many had

previously worked in other sectors

such as construction, hospitality, retail,

and manufacturing. All demonstrated

a desire to work, the get-up-and-go

to commence a new career path, an

interest in technology – and most

importantly, a determination to

succeed.

There are a number of misconceptions

about the IT sector: ‘It’s all about STEM

(Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics) including Honours Maths’

– this is inaccurate! The sector has a

huge appetite for Smart People with Smart Skills. Neither is the technology

sector just about sitting in front of a

computer doing ‘heady’ programming.

Get FITfor IT?

By Peter Davitt, Chief Executive Officer of Fastrack to IT (FIT)



There is a multitude of different and

interesting job opportunities – for both women and men - from rolling up

your sleeves and setting up networks

and infrastructure, to creating apps,

providing customer services, working

in marketing, fashion and design, to

implementing project plans etc.

So what does it take to embark on

a career in IT? FIT, now in its 15th

year, has gained a few insights over

the years and is convinced that

more learners / job-seekers should

consider the sector as a real career

path and become ‘FIT for IT’.

TECHNOLOGY WORKS!More and more jobs require people

to have some IT skills and this trend

is growing. This is not surprising

when you consider how dependent

we are becoming on our digital

devices in everyday life and how

many of us now use our mobiles

for a lot more than phone calls.

Daily, more and more people are

keeping up to date with what is going

on and saving notes, images and

all kinds of stuff in the ‘cloud’ so

why should we be surprised if the

workplace wasn’t any different. All

companies nowadays are applying

and adapting the digital technologies

that we take for granted to manage

their activities, market products,

communicate with their customers,

increase productivity, etc. So it

is advisable, as we increasingly

become a technology-driven economy

and society, that we all (young and

not so young) sharpen up our IT

skills - even those of us who do not

wish to become ‘IT practitioners’ - as

technology impacts upon us not only

in the workplace but also in our daily

activities. Today the vast majority of

people own a mobile phone (which

didn’t exist 20 years ago) and it

is now almost impossible to book

a flight or a concert ticket without

going online - imagine the impact of

technology in our personal and work

lives 10 – 15 years from now!

Technologists forecast by 2015: the

wide use of ‘wearable electronics’

to monitor health and well-being

and to communicate with our home

and work devices, ‘brain computer

interfaces’ enabling people control

certain assistive-living equipment

by thought, ‘3D Holograms’ as

screenless display will become a

reality, there will be major advances

in the diagnosis and treatment of

serious illnesses such as diabetes,

cancer, dementia and Alzheimer’s,

electric transportation will be huge

and everything will be digitally

connected through the ‘Internet of

Things’. Citing the World Economic

Forum (2014) 'Technology has

become perhaps the greatest

agent in the modern world. While

never without risks, positive

technological breakthroughs promise

innovative solutions to the most

pressing challenges of our times,

from resource scarcity to global

environmental change.'

ADVICE FOR JOB SEEKERSSo what is involved in becoming an

‘IT practitioner’, which is someone

who develops, sells, maintains or

supports IT systems and services?

As the job description suggests,

there are a variety of ways to make

a good living based on a knowledge,

skill and competence in IT. We

asked our colleague, Fidelma Furey,

FIT Services to Industry Manager,

to pass on some tips based on

her recent experience of assisting

hundreds of students from the FIT

ICT Technologies Programme to

successfully persuade employers

to select them for a range of

internships and employment

opportunities in the IT sector.

What kinds of students participated in the FIT ICT Technologies Programme? 'All of the students we worked with

on this Programme had experienced

recent unemployment of at least

twelve months as this was a

‘Technology sector could

be the game changer for

our economy’

¾MORE THAN

of companies can’t find the right talent for the job



requirement to qualify under the

rules of the Government Momentum

Programme which provided funding

for these FIT courses. They ranged

in age from twenty to sixty and

whereas younger students had little

experience of working, the older

students had already accumulated

a wealth of valuable work and life

experience. Participants came from

a diverse range of previous jobs /

career paths and none.'

What are the most common things that employers look for? 'Employers obviously want some

proficiency in IT skills and the more

practical these are the better.

For example, if they need a web

developer then the ability to use

some of the common web tools

and software programmes are

advantageous - but these are not

‘rocket science’ and can be learnt

by those who have the passion,

interest and commitment. Whilst it

is essential to have the requisite IT

skills, employers also look for other

key competencies and sometimes

candidates tend to overlook these.

For example, employers want to see

people who can demonstrate that

they are good team players and will

look favourably on candidates who

can show their potential contribution

to the team through their hobbies,

i.e. football, athletics or through

voluntary work projects. Employers

also value good communication

skills and want to hire candidates

who can demonstrate enthusiasm

and a passion for the role they are

applying for.'

What tips have you got for job seekers going to an interview? 'Don’t forget to research the

company and the role on offer.

Consider what skills and qualities

you can bring to the company and

provide evidence from your school

work/projects/work experience/

interests to support this. In this

regard, where possible, try and

‘tweak’ your CV and covering

letter to each job application – by

emphasising skills and experience

as appropriate – give the impression

that you have carefully considered

the company as a potential employer

rather than just having included them

amongst many others as part of a

blanket-mail looking for a job.'

Present yourself well. Remember the employer is as anxious to recruit the right person as you are to secure the job. Choose a suitable

outfit for the interview and pay

attention to personal grooming.

Maintain good eye contact throughout

the interview from the time you shake

the interviewer’s hand to the time you

leave the interview. Finally, ensure

that you convey your interest, passion

and suitability for the role. Let them

know you are a person of initiative,

‘a problem solver rather than a

problem carrier’.

So based on your experience what kind of person should consider a career in IT? 'The most interesting facet of the

IT sector is that it requires a broad

church of skills. If you have a strong

interest in IT, are technically minded,

enjoy ‘tinkering about’ with PCs,

phones and gadgets there may be

a career that meets your interests.

There are also roles in the sector for

those who are practically minded and

‘hands-on’ setting up, configuring and

supporting computer networks and

systems. Maybe you enjoy or have

an interest in developing apps to

make mundane task easier? Are you

a good communicator - then a role

in customer support might be your

choice? You might like the idea of

being part of a product development

cycle and work on developing or

testing products? You may prefer to

analyse data and consider a role as a

business analyst within the IT sector

or you might be a great planner

and organiser and have the perfect

skillset to become an IT project

manager. A passion for art and

design could develop into a career in

online retail.

Consider your skills, strengths

and passions. If any of the above

resonates then maybe a career in IT

is for you….the world is your oyster!'

ACCESS ROUTES TO AN IT CAREERSo what are the current education

and training routes for those

interested in embarking on a career

in IT?

The traditional route for many is to

apply for a third-level course in a

university, institute of technology

or private third-level college. But

these are not the only ways to get

started. Increasingly, Colleges

of Further Education are offering

quality technology courses under

a variety of programmes such

as PLC, VTOS, BTEI, Youthreach

and in Training Centres etc. that

provide diverse pathways that

suit a variety of students and

circumstances. Such programmes

provide opportunities for job seekers

to acquire appropriate technology

skills up to Level 6 on the National

Qualifications Framework.

In the academic year 2014/2015

FIT will support in excess of 3,000

learners on such technology

programmes, informed by industry

needs and run with the support and

collaboration of partner Education

and Training Boards (ETBs) operating

Majority of indigenous tech

companies expect revenue to grow



throughout the country. For more

information on these courses,

contact FIT on 1890 815704 /

[email protected] or your local ETB.

What about opportunities to study

and work at the same time? Why

don’t they exist in the Irish system

like, for example, in Germany, the

Netherlands and Australia? This is

the proposition that FIT has been

promoting over the last few years

and it has been supported in its

efforts through its partnership with

industry. Many of the technology

companies represented on the

FIT Board, such as Accenture,

Cisco, IBM, and Fujitsu are availing

of dual-education initiatives /

apprenticeship programmes in

the UK and elsewhere in order to

broaden their recruitment streams.

Microsoft have such confidence

in the potential of young people

to contribute to the sector that it

initiated the Youth2Work programme

with the aim of encouraging and

enabling 10,000 young people over

a three-year period to consider

career opportunities in the IT

sector.

ICT ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONAL – A NEW PATHWAY TO EMPLOYMENT IN THE TECHNOLOY SECTORThe Board of FIT, as a result of the

extent of the IT skills shortages

highlighted in the FIT ICT Skills

Audit published in May of 2013, is

committed to creating new pathways

for young people and job seekers

in general, to fully exploit the

increasing number of employment

opportunities emerging in the

technology and related sectors.

One of the recommendations in the

Skills Audit was that Ireland should

initiate a dual-education model

to foster a new ICT Associate Professional stream of talent for

the ICT/technology workforce.

The industry has endorsed this

new approach and ICT Ireland has

advocated that it be prioritised

by government. Government has

listened to the views of industry and

has given the green light for pilot

programmes to commence later

this year.

The FIT ICT Associate Professional

pathway is shown in the graphic

below. It involves combining periods

of study and work over a two-year

period to gain formal qualifications

along with real paid work experience

and applied learning.

So what is it actually like to

undertake an ICT Associate

pathway? We have to look to the

experience of other countries to

answer that and one person who

has written passionately about

his personal experience is Tobi

Lütke, CEO of Shopify, see http://

tobi.lutke.com/the-apprentice-

programmer for his compelling

story, The Apprentice Programmer,

of which we give readers a brief

flavour below:

‘I dropped out of school when I

was 16 years old. School was not

for me. To me, computers were

so much more interesting. Right

or wrong, I felt like I wasted my

time there and my real education

was starting when I came home.

I lost respect for the institution

and of course this meant that I no

longer bothered to put any effort

into it. They diagnosed me with all

sorts of learning disabilities and

started to medicate me. I wanted

to leave it all behind. It turned out

those learning disabilities were

not real disabilities; I was simply a

kinesthetic learner.’

In the article Tobi explains

how becoming an apprentice

programmer changed his life. He

concludes by saying: ‘I learned a

lot, and I am eternally thankful to

have chosen that path. If only more

countries struggling with dropout

rates and job creation would give

their students a similar choice.’

BROAD GROUP OF STAKEHOLDERSFIT is working with a broad group of

stakeholders in education, industry,

government and agencies who see

the benefits of an ICT Associate

Professional pathway as a new

approach that Ireland should adopt

Good news:

Unemployment rate

predicted to fall to

9.8% in 2015



those with the matching skill-sets,

many of which will be at competent

and entry levels (Level 5 and

Level 6 on the NFQ). This second

edition of the FIT ICT Skills Audit

benefits from the strong support of

FIT Board companies, SOLAS, the

IDA and ICT Ireland. IBM Ireland

is co-funding the research and

Managing Director Peter O’Neill

will launch the report on the 1st

October 2014 in IBM’s world class

campus, Technology Campus in

Damastown. FIT will make the ICT

Skills Audit report available to

the further education and training

sector and support the introduction

of new technology programmes by

collaborating closely with ETBI and

participating ETBs nationwide.

The audit also has synergies with

other FIT activities such as our

involvement with eSkills. FIT is proud

to be the national coordinator for a

European-wide campaign ‘eSkills for

Jobs 2014’ which seeks to support

EU member states to find new ways to

enable more citizens, especially young

people, to benefit from careers in the

rapidly expanding ICT sector.

In conclusion, for Ireland the future

of the technology sector is bright.

Enjoying substantial growth, the sector

is keen to encourage many more job

seekers to attain the necessary eskills

through FET provision to commence a

career in IT.

to help more job seekers fulfil their

potential to become valued ICT

practitioners. The Department of

Education and Skills has asked FIT

to proceed with a pilot of the ICT

Associate Professional initiative and

FIT is working closely with SOLAS,

ETBI and a number of ETBs to get

the initial pilot programmes up and

running from this autumn onwards.

The Board of FIT, which is a not-

for-profit company, is made up

of senior executives from major

multi-nationals and indigenous

companies: Accenture, AOL,

ARYZTA, ATOS, Cisco, EMC,

Fujitsu, IBM, ICT Ireland, Kantan

MT, Lionbridge, Maxim, Microsoft,

Novartis, Oracle, Origin Enterprises,

PayPal/eBay, SAP, Skillsoft,

Siemens, Sisk Healthcare,

Symantec, Version 1, and

Welocalise.

With the engagement and support

of such prestigious companies we

are confident the ICT Associate

Professional Programme is a

desirable, innovative and viable

complementary route into the ICT

labour market.

A FUTURE OF RAPID GROWTH AND RELENTLESS CHANGEThe inventiveness of people who

work in the ICT sector and the

speedy acceptance of new devices

by consumers have driven change at

every level in our ever more global

village. Can you believe that a

Chinese smartphone manufacturer,

barely four years old called Xiaomi

(which means Little Rice) has

knocked Samsung off the top spot

in China, one of the world’s fastest

growing mobile phone markets?

Xiaomi was founded in April 2010 by

a Chinese tech entrepreneur called

Lei Jun. Lei, who was not born with

a silver spoon in his mouth, worked

his way up having studied computer

science as a young man in Wuhan,

a gritty industrial city in central

China. With a 14 percent share of

the Chinese smartphone market,

Xiaomi is now the fifth-largest

smartphone maker in the world

while the once famous Nokia brand

is struggling to maintain a foothold

in the smartphone space.

The above example is just one

of many in recent years that

illustrate the dramatic and speedy

changes that take place in the

ICT world. FIT developed the FIT

ICT Skills Audit model to track

these changes and to spell out

what they mean in relation to the

skills needs in Ireland. This year

FIT is again carrying out the audit

with assistance from 70 leading

multinational and indigenous ICT

companies who are sharing their

experience of the most hard-to-find

skill sets and their perspectives on

how many, and which roles they

will strive to fill over the coming

12 – 18 months.

BUILDING A BRIGHTER FUTURE THROUGH IN-DEMAND TECHNOLOGY SKILLSNew developments and emerging

technologies continue to shape

skills needs and just as the public

are getting used to terms such

as ‘The Cloud’ we are seeing the

emergence of new drivers of change

such as ‘Big Data’ and the ‘Internet

of Things’ which are already shaping

the immediate future. The good

news is that with the insights

of the FIT ICT Skills Audit those

responsible for providing technology

skills courses can understand which

specific technologies continue to

be in demand and which new ones

need to be catered for. The audit

is also a resource to policy makers

with regard to prioritising the most

effective use of available funding.

Future growth in the ICT sector is

flagged to be even stronger than

in recent years and many more

vacancies will become available for



course. The second element of the

tool engages learners in reflecting on

wider benefits from participation on the

course in the four domains of personal

development, health and wellbeing,

family and community, and future plans

for education and employment.

CEFA members have adopted this

CWBL tool for use in their own

programmes in ETBs across Ireland

with a view to compiling our collective

outcomes and contributing to the

evidence base and discussion on the

wider benefits and value of learning in

adult education in Ireland generally.

Much of the literature on the wider

benefits of learning came initially

from The Centre for Research on

the Wider Benefits of Learning which

was established in 1999 in the UK

by the Department for Education

and Employment. The task of the

centre was to investigate the non-

economic benefits that learning

brings to the learner and society

as a whole (Schuller, T. 2001) and

several publications titled The Wider Benefits of Learning Papers followed.

More recently in the UK further policy

discussions are taking place in adult

education regarding the ‘impact’ of

adult learning and in particular on

the ‘social value’ in terms of public

spending. NIACE (National Institute

of Adult Continuing Education) has

published a piece of research based

on the following two pieces of NIACE

work: firstly, on behalf of the Local

Over the last number of years CEFA has

highlighted the need to document and

generate appropriate methodologies that

will capture and demonstrate the ‘wider

benefits’ of learning (CEFA 2011). There

is abundant literature summarised later

in this article stretching back many years

on the nature of social or wider benefits

of learning. However the development of

appropriate methodologies to measure

or capture such benefits in a systematic

and comprehensible manner has a

much shorter history. This has to do in

part with the difficulty in devising such

methodologies and also the commitment

required to sustain them over the long

term. Notwithstanding these difficulties,

there is a need to resource and research

comprehensively the development of

measurement tools which are suited to

the nature of the community education

programme and the operational

guidelines that underpin it (DES 2012).

A tool for ‘Capturing the Wider Benefits

of Learning’ (CWBL)1 was developed

in Limerick City Adult Education

Service (LCAES), Community Education

programme in 2010 as part of a

Curriculum Planning initiative across

the LCAES. This methodology/tool was

developed for use by tutors/facilitators

and focuses on two elements of

community education. The first is that

of engaging learners in establishing

the learning outcomes they wish to

achieve through participation on the

course, and to measure the extent to

which these learning outcomes have

been achieved on completion of the

This article highlights one

of the enduring challenges

facing our work in community

education and FET generally, namely

the task of capturing the important

outcomes of learning beyond those

which are assessed for the purpose

of accreditation. These outcomes

include improved confidence and

self-esteem, assertiveness, active

citizenship, improved health, community

involvement, preparation for work

(job readiness) and better sense of

personal wellbeing. They have been

the subject of academic research

internationally and at a practice level

are frequently the learning outcomes

which learners themselves cite as the

most significant.

The Further Education and Training

Strategy 2014-2019 describes

some of these outcomes in terms

of ‘social benefits which concern

individuals’ success in effectively and

constructively participating in social,

civic and working life’. The task is to

respond to the changing economic

policy context whilst also supporting

the development of methodologies that

will meet the demands of the economic

agenda, as well as the non-economic

benefits of learning to the individual

and to society as a whole. CEFA has

the breadth of experience and expertise

to contribute to the discussion/debate

on how best to collect systematic and

objective data on outcomes and values.

This article, it is intended, is part of

this endeavour.

By Deborah Ryan, Secretary of the Community Education Facilitators Association (CEFA)

Creating a Shared Notion on the Wider Benefits of Learning

1 The CWBL tool was developed by Tara Robinson, Curriculum Development Officer with LCAES in partnership with Mary Flannery CEF and staff of the

community education service.



corresponding resources are required

to support this activity;

outcomes need to be clearly defined

at the outset as do the target group or

intervention for examination;

a range of measurement tools will

be required to assess a range of

outcomes.

The recent publication of The Further

Education and Training Strategy 2014-

2019 as well as the structural changes

within FET offer a unique opportunity

for the development of new approaches

which serve communities and the

economy. As a professional organisation

CEFA has much to contribute to the

development of approaches which

capture the wider benefits of learning.

References CEFA (2011) Community Education:

Enhancing Learning, Fostering

Empowerment & Contributing to Civic

Society – Position Paper.

Fujiwara, D (2012) Valuing the Impact

of Adult Learning: An analysis of the

effect of adult learning on different

domains in life.

Motschilnig, R. (2012) Wider Benefits

of Adult Education – An Inventory of

Existing Studies and Research.

NIACE (2012) Can Social Return on

Investment for Adult and Community

Learning by measured? Lessons from a

British research project.

Plewis, I., Preston, J., (2001) The

Wider Benefits of Learning Paper: No.

2. Evaluating the Benefits of Lifelong

Learning, a framework.

Schuller, T., Bynner, J., Green, A.,

Blackwell, L., Hammond, C., Preston,

J., Gough, M., (2001) The Wider

Benefits of Learning Papers: No 1.

Modelling and Measuring the Wider

Benefits of Learning, a synthesis.

SOLAS (2014) Further Education and

Training Strategy 2014-2019.

Other discussions and debates on

this issue are also taking place in

other countries. In Germany, for

example, DVV international and the

German Institute of Adult Education

(DIE) initiated a research project titled

‘Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)’

which was financed by the EU with an

aim of comparing learning efforts with

the benefits achieved by adult learning

for wellbeing both of learners and

communities (Motschilnig, R. 2012).

The development of a national

framework for measuring

and documenting outcomes

comprehensively and rigorously in

community education FET generally

will be a complex and ongoing

endeavour. However, the summary

review of literature above shows that

work already started in this area can

inform the development of a national

framework. Key points from the

literature suggest the development of

the following:

a holistic view of benefits to include

non-economic benefits,

improved research, data collection

and analysis,

indicators that will assess complex

outcomes,

comparative measurement tools, and

more investment in the wider impact

of general adult learning.

CEFA welcomes current discussions

that are being facilitated by ETBI at the

Adult Education and Training Forum.

The collective notions on this issue

are that a thorough review of the

existing ‘tools’ or instruments could

be undertaken with a longer-term view

of developing tools and mechanisms

that can be disseminated as standard

policy and practice. The importance of

trying to address the issue cannot be

underestimated and CEFA concurs with

the BeLL project (Motschilnig, R. 2012)

that some stages in this process might

include the following principles:

capturing outcomes has to be

a planned activity built into the

provision from the start and

Government Association exploring

the changing strategic role of adult

learning and skills in communities; and

secondly, on work for the Skills Funding

Agency completing Social Return on

Investment analyses with a sample

of Adult and Community Learning

Funding Projects in partnership with

the SROI (Social Return on Investment)

Network (Fujiwara, D. 2012). Based on

analysis of the effect of adult learning

the wider outcomes show the impact

of adult learning is grouped into a

number of outcome domains: health,

social relationships, volunteering, and

employment / employability. Through

this research (i.e. deriving estimates

of monetary value of positive impacts

across these domains) it was found

that participating in adult learning has

positive effects on individual health,

employability, social relationships,

and the likelihood of participating in

voluntary work and, in turn, these

domains have a positive impact on

wellbeing. This model used the British

Household Panel Survey (BHPS) data

and tests statistically the ‘relationship

between answers given to questions

on adult learning…this is then given a

value expressed in monetary terms’.

The monetary valuation method used

was developed in the HM Treasury

Green Book (Fujwara & Campbell,

2011). This method is referred to as

the Wellbeing Valuation approach.

The SROI (Social Return on Investment)

model cited above was developed

in 2008 and it also assesses social

and economic values in adult learning

created by an activity or project (NIACE,

2012). This model broadens the

‘actors’ in the analysis of outcomes by

taking into the assessment process

a set of principles aiming to show

all the values the project creates

including those that may not have a

market value. It then expresses them

all in monetary terms so that the total

value of the project is included. It is

considered by SROI that this model

enables the full voice of the learners to

be heard.



Four years ago I was appointed as

a first time board member to the

Boards of Management of Davitt

College, Castlebar and Coláiste Pobail

Acla, Achill, Co Mayo. At the end of

December my time serving on these

boards will come to an end. I was very

fortunate to serve on the Boards of

Management of these two schools,

as they are good schools that are well

managed. My good fortune also extended

to the fact that both boards were well

chaired by experienced and efficient

Chairpersons, which enhanced my

experience and gave me the opportunity

to learn a lot during this time.

As my service to these Boards of

Management draws to a close I have

reflected on what I have learned

from serving on a board, but more

importantly I have considered how

board members can better serve

their schools.

GOVERNANCEBoards of Management of ETB schools

are in fact committees of the ETB and

as such are one of the cornerstones

of school governance. The term

governance is now widely used, but

I believe it is important to clearly

understand what it means and how the

concept of governance is applicable to

a member of a Board of Management.

Broadly speaking, governance refers

to the mechanisms, processes and

relations through which organisations

are controlled and directed. The

concept of governance is also

about the distribution of rights and

accountabilities. From a school

perspective the Board of Management

provides direction and control for the

school and at the same time it must

ensure that the rights of the school

community are upheld and it

must confirm that school

accountabilities are fulfilled.

Recently I came across an article by

Professor Niamh Brennan of UCD entitled

‘Applying principles of good governance

in a school board context’. What

By Clodagh Geraghty

Reflections on Governance for School Boards of Management

'Broadly speaking, governance refers to the mechanisms,

processes and relations through which organisations are

controlled and directed.'



Professor Brennan writes about has great

resonance for me, and makes a great

deal of sense in light of my experiences

over the last four years. She is clear that

board members owe a duty to the school

as a whole and not to any individuals or

groups, irrespective of who nominated

the board member. Other affiliations

must be set aside and the interest of the

school must be paramount in the actions

of all board members.

POSITION OF TRUSTBoard of management members have

what can be termed a fiduciary duty

to the school. A fiduciary duty is a

fairly antiquated term, but really what

it means is that members are in a

position of trust and must use their

skill and knowledge in the best interest

of the school and whatever skills and

knowledge members have acquired in

other areas of their life must be applied

in the best interest of the school.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS Good governance also involves high

quality interpersonal relationships

and effective communication. School

boards should be robust and effective

social systems. In my experience high

quality interpersonal relationships and

social systems can take some time to

develop. Yet it is essential for the Board

of Management that they do develop

and in this regard the Principal and the

Chairperson have an important role to

play in creating time and opportunities

for these relationships to evolve.

The occasional cup of tea and a biscuit

before a meeting is so welcome and

appreciated, particularly when board

members often travel to meetings

straight from work. It also serves as an

opportunity for members to get to know

each other facilitating more effective

working relationships.

DEALING WITH DISAGREEMENT In my view effective social systems

are not about all members being in

agreement all of the time. A well-

chaired effective board is able to cope

with a certain amount of conflict and

disagreement. In my opinion a group

that is able to debate important matters

indicates that the group is working

well and that the members are able to

engage in constructive challenge about

important matters. Effective chairing

of meetings can make it safe for all

members to express their views. In

particular, experienced Chairpersons can

help new members to find their voice

and encourage their input.

I believe it is essential to speak up

and express one’s views frankly when

serving on a Board of Management. It is

equally important to listen carefully and

respectfully to one’s colleagues, giving

them the time and opportunity to explain

their views and perspectives. One of

the most sincere forms of respect is to

listen carefully to another’s view.

GIVING THE TASK THE TIME IT NEEDS In order to engage with the role and

responsibility of being a member of a

Board of Management it is essential

to engage with the tasks at hand. This

means attending as many meetings as

possible, and setting aside dedicated

time to have read and considered policies

and procedures which are sent to us in

advance. Principals and their staff spend

significant amounts of time drafting and

refining policies and procedures and it is

our job as members of a board to read

these documents and offer suggested

amendments where we feel they would

be of benefit. Our collective knowledge

builds the capacity of the board to deal

effectively with the matters at hand in the

best interest of the school.

APPRECIATING THE WORK OF STAFFAt every meeting I have attended over

the past four years the Principals have

recounted stories about the breadth

and depth of commitment of school

staff to their pupils and to their school.

Furthermore, the principals that I

have worked with have embodied the

very best characteristics of academic

leadership. In doing so, they have

been open and collaborative when

working with the board and I sincerely

appreciate the opportunity to have

worked with them.

One of the schools underwent a

Whole School Evaluation during my

time on the Board of Management.

At the end of the process part of the

feedback from the inspectorate was

that in the school everyone knew what

the plan was and, most importantly,

everybody knew what their role in

the plan was. This was testament to

effective communication and good

governance.

7 PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC SERVICE Last year the Committee on Standards

in Public Life in the UK published the

seven standards of public service.

There are: selflessness, integrity,

accountability, objectivity, openness,

honesty and leadership. As new Boards

of Management form, these principles,

if upheld, will ensure that the best

interest of the school community are

always upheld.

Clodagh Geraghty is a member of the

Board of Management Review Group

and she is a former member of Mayo,

Sligo and Leitrim ETB. Clodagh is a

lecturer in Law and Human Resource

Management at Galway Mayo Institute

of Technology (GMIT).

ETBI will shortly publish a guide for

Boards of Management.

The title of Professor Brennan’s

paper referred to in this article is:

Brennan, Niamh (2011): Applying

principles of good governance in a

school board context. Available at:

http://researchrepository.ucd.ie.

' Members are in a position of

trust and must use their skill

and knowledge in the best

interest of the school'



Getting to know the new Ministers

MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND SKILLS, JAN O’SULLIVAN, TD

Jan O’Sullivan is a Labour

Party TD representing the

Limerick City constituency.

A former pre-school and

secondary school teacher

Jan was elected to

Seanad Éireann following the 1992 General Election and

was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann in a by-election

in 1998. Jan has since been returned to represent the

constituency in the following three general elections.

Speaking about her role as Minister for Education and Skills,

Minister O’Sullivan said: 'In July 2014 I was honoured to be

appointed Minister for Education and Skills.

I have had a lifelong interest in education having worked

in the sector for a number of years and having served as

Spokesperson on Education for the Labour Party from 2002

to 2007.

I believe that education is central to our idea of citizenship,

our economic recovery and our social progress. Education

has the capacity to transform our lives and our communities

in a fundamental way.

As Minister for Education and Skills I have a duty to ensure

that our policies and funding decisions support the continued

growth and improvement of our education system and that all

citizens, regardless of age, gender or social background have

equal access to appropriate, quality education services.

I am also committed to ensuring that the skills element of

my portfolio contributes to our economic recovery as we

use every lever to ensure that people have the skills and

confidence to return to work as job opportunities increase.

I have a challenging and exciting job. I have a clear vision

of the role of education in modern Irish society over the

coming years. However, I do not claim to have a monopoly of

wisdom. I would be interested in hearing your views by email

to [email protected]. I am also looking forward to

working closely with each of the education partners during

my tenure as Minister.'

MINISTER FOR SKILLS, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION, DAMIEN ENGLISH, TD

Damien English is a

member of the Fine

Gael Parliamentary

Party representing the

constituency of Meath

West. Damien first stood for

election in 1999 and was elected to Meath County Council

for the Navan electoral area. In the 2002 general election,

Damien was elected to the 29th Dáil as TD for the Meath

constituency. At 24 years of age, he was the youngest TD in

the 29th Dáil.

Damien was elected secretary to the Fine Gael

parliamentary party in 2002 and became the party deputy

spokesperson on Arts, Sports and Tourism. In October

2004 he was appointed deputy spokesperson on Justice

and Community Affairs with special responsibility for Drugs,

Alcohol and Crime Prevention. From 2002-2007, Damien

was a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.

Following the General Election in 2007, Damien served

as Fine Gael’s deputy spokesperson on Enterprise with

special responsibility for Small Business and Labour Affairs

from 2007 to 2010. From 2010 to 2011 he was party

deputy spokesperson on Finance with special responsibility

for Banking and Credit. In the current Dáil term Damien

previously held the position of Chairman of the Oireachtas

Joint Committee for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation. Previously

he was Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee for Jobs,

Social Protection & Education. He was appointed Minister for

Skills, Research and Innovation on 15 July 2014.

The Inspectorate of the DES will be holding competitions

for the recruitment of post-primary inspectors in autumn

2014. The posts available will include Inspectors of Art, Construction Studies, Guidance, History, Mathematics, Spanish and Special Education. Advertisements are

expected to appear in the press on 5 September and

the full details of vacancies will be available on

www.publicjobs.ie. The closing date for applications for

the competitions is expected to be 26 September 2014.

Recruitment to Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills: Applications due in September 2014

2014

2015



2014 has proven to be another successful year for the

Instructional Leadership Programme; not only has much

been achieved but much has been planned for the further

development of the Programme.

NATIONAL CONFERENCEInstructional Leadership: Building Professional Learning CommunitiesSeptember 26th & 27th

in the Mount Wolseley Hotel, Tullow, Co. Carlow

Keynote Speakers: Dr Barrie Bennett, Professor Emeritus,

University of Ontario

Dr Padraig Hogan, Senior Lecturer,

National University of Ireland, Maynooth

A new Website and Blog will go live in early 2015.

An invitation to join Cohort 6 will issue shortly, to

commence the Programme, with Dr Barrie Bennett, in

March 2015.

Plans are also in place to deliver the Programme at

regional level by graduates of the Programme. If you

wish to have the programme delivered at regional

level, by some of our graduates please contact Joan.

[email protected]

Work has commenced on the editing and publishing

of some of Dr Barrie Bennett’s books for the Irish

context.

An International Conference is being planned for 2016.

The 2015 National Conference will focus on the

impact of the Instructional Leadership Programme on

student outcomes.

An additional 129 principals and teachers will

graduate from the Programme in autumn 2014.

11 Instructional Leadership graduates have completed

the Post Graduate Diploma in Leading Learning, at

NUI, Galway.

Graduates of the Instructional Leadership Programme

will present at the Teaching Council’s Féilte on Oct

4th. Dr Barrie Bennett is a keynote speaker at the

event.

Instructional Leadership has joined Twitter

EDISON PROGRAMME: ETBI is involved in a European Project, Edison, which is

focussed on the development of entrepreneurial skills in our

classrooms at teacher level and student level. It specifically

aims to encourage our students to consider what it is to be

an entrepreneur and to identify their entrepreneurial skills

and qualities and to ultimately create the entrepreneurial

mind-set in our teachers and students in line with the Europe

2020 Strategy. The Programme is broadly based on four

modules; Identifying Entrepreneurial Competencies, Enhancing

the Core Entrepreneurial Competencies, Developing a Cross

Curricula Approach to Embedding the Entrepreneurial Concept,

Assessment and Planning for future development. The

development of the Programme is progressing well and will be

ready to pilot in Ireland in January 2015. Formal invitations to

participate will issue shortly.

Twenty teachers are invited to participate in the Pilot of The Edison Train the Trainer Programme.

Training will commence in January 2015 and will take place in the ETBI Training and Research Centre, Naas, Co. Kildare.

If you are interested in participating please contact [email protected]

By Joan Russell, ETBI Project Officer for Instructional Practices

An Update on theInstructional Leadership &Edison Programmes

2014

2015

INVITATION



The The Office of Emergency

Planning (OEP) was delighted to

provide an article for ETBI and

we hope that the following will outline

the background to Emergency Planning

at national level in Ireland. The OEP

would also like to use this opportunity to

draw your attention to the Winter Ready

programme which we hope will assist all

sectors of society in preparing for the

winter conditions.

Emergency planning worldwide changed

dramatically following the incidents

of 9/11. In Ireland, the Minister for

Defence was tasked with chairing a

Government Task Force on Emergency

Planning which comprises those

Ministers and/or senior officials

of Government Departments and

public authorities, which make a key

contribution to the emergency planning

process. It includes senior officials of

all Government Departments including

the Department of Education and Skills,

senior officers of An Garda Síochána

and the Defence Forces and officials of

other key public authorities, which have

a lead or support role in Government

emergency planning. The Government

Task Force is the top-level structure

which gives policy and direction, and

which coordinates and oversees

the emergency planning activities of

all Government Departments and

public authorities. It promotes the

best possible use of resources and

compatibility between different planning

requirements. This Task Force continues

to be chaired by the Minister for

Defence and has met on some eighty-

eight occasions up to and including 23

July 2014.

Government departments retain their

lead role in respect of specific

emergency planning and

response (e.g. the

Department of

Health and the

Health Service Executive for health-

related emergencies/pandemics and the

Department of Environment, Community

and Local Government in respect of

nuclear incidents, the Department of

Agriculture, Food and the Marine in

respect of animal disease, etc). The

emergency planning structures and

roles and responsibilities are further

elaborated on the website

www.emergencyplanning.ie

The Office of Emergency Planning

is a civil-military office within the

Department of Defence, established

in 2001 to support the work of the

Task Force. The Office works with all

departments and agencies involved in

emergency planning and it carries out a

cross-departmental oversight function,

By Brigitta O’Doherty, Principal Officer, Office of Emergency Planning

National Emergency Planning in Ireland



which forms the basis of an Annual

Report to Government.

In addition to these national structures,

a 'Framework for Major Emergency

Management (2006)' sets out the

structure enabling the Principal

Response Agencies (an Garda

Síochána, the Health Service Executive

and Local Authorities) to prepare for,

and make a coordinated response to

major emergencies. The Framework

became operational on 30 September

2008 and all agencies now follow the

procedures detailed in the Framework

and the associated protocols and

guidance documents developed since,

which are all available on the website

www.mem.ie.

Many Departments with lead

responsibility for the various elements

of emergency planning may have a

need for the assistance of the Defence

Forces and other specialised services

in emergency situations. In order to

ensure that there is clarity in relation

to the availability and use of resources

amongst all departments and agencies

in an emergency situation, the Office

of Emergency Planning has encouraged

the completion of Memoranda of

Understanding and Service Level

Agreements between those departments

which may need to share their resources

and expertise.

NATIONAL EMERGENCY COORDINATION CENTRE (NECC)A National Emergency Coordination

Centre (NECC) was established

in 2007, where Ministers and/or

Senior Civil Servants can convene to

coordinate national responses to major

emergencies/crises. The NECC has

been used on an ongoing basis since

it was established and is equipped

with robust communications systems

and support facilities managed by

the OEP. The NECC is available to all

Government Departments and Agencies

for use in emergency planning and

response. It is the venue for meetings

of the Government Task Force on

Emergency Planning, Subgroups on

Emergency Planning and the National

Steering Group for the implementation

of the Framework for Major Emergency

Management. The Severe Weather

National Coordination Group and other

similar National Coordination Groups for

other emergencies/crises meet in the

NECC when the need arises.

WINTER READYIn November 2011, following two

severe winters, it was decided by the

Government Task Force on Emergency

Planning to launch a 'Be Winter-Ready'

information campaign to give the public

advice on how to prepare for severe

weather and highlighted the 'whole of

Government' approach being taken to

inform the public of what was being

done and where information can be

sourced. The central message of the

information campaign was simply to

encourage people to be prepared, to

stay safe and to know where to find help

if needed.

The objectives of this information

campaign were:

-To provide practical advice on how best

to prepare for the coming winter

To ensure the public are aware of

where advice and help can be found if

needed

To reassure the public that

preparations have been made at

Government level and arrangements

have been put in place to ensure that

there will be coordinated ‘Whole of

Government’ response to any severe

weather events

In 2011 and 2012, the central focus

of the Information Campaign was an

Brigitta O’Doherty and others at a meeting of the National Coordination Group on Severe Weather in the NECC.

'The central message of the information campaign was

simply to encourage people to be prepared, to stay safe and

to know where to find help if needed.'



information booklet ‘Be Winter Ready’

and the Winter Ready website

www.winterready.ie. In 2013 a twitter

account was launched and the Office of

Emergency Planning tweeted during the

winter period to augment the ‘Be Winter

Ready’ campaign. The twitter account

can be followed on @emergencyIE and

the public were encouraged to join in

the conversation at #bewinterready. In

addition, a national radio advertisement

campaign over seven days was

undertaken following the 2013 launch.

Each day targeted a specific sector

such as the home, business, farm,

school, health, roads and flooding. The

National Roads Authority assisted by

posting ‘Be Winter Ready’ messages on

all their motorway signs.

The upcoming campaign in 2014 will

augment the previous information

campaigns with a redesign of the

‘Be Winter Ready’ booklet. It is also

planned to support the campaign with

radio adverts and social media.

SCHOOLSThe ‘Be Winter Ready’ booklet provides

targeted advice and has a section on

school closure during a severe weather

event as follows:

'The decision to close a school rests

with the school management authority.

Any decision to close is taken in the

interest of children’s safety, having

assessed the local risks and having

consulted, as appropriate, with school

transport operators.

Some of the issues that schools take

into account include:

conditions in the school itself

the capacity of the school to ensure

the health and safety of students

whilst in school

the ability of parents, students,

staff and school transport services

to safely negotiate local road

conditions to reach the school

While schools in an area will normally

try to coordinate their decisions, the

individual circumstances can vary

between individual schools in close

proximity and may lead to different

decisions being taken by schools.

Guidance on time lost due to unforeseen

closures as a result of severe weather is

available on the Department’s website

www.education.ie.

If your child’s school decides to close

on the grounds of safety, the school

will make all efforts to contact you.

Most schools use a text messaging

service to communicate with parents.

Local radio or the school’s website

may also be used to alert parents to a

school closure.

If you need further information contact

your child’s school to discuss the

arrangements and plans in place

locally. Contact telephone numbers

and details for Primary and Post-

Primary schools are available from the

website www.education.ie

Parents with children travelling under

the School Transport Scheme should

contact their local Bus Éireann School

Transport Office for updates. Bus

Éireann also updates local radio

stations regularly during spells of

severe weather that are likely to

disrupt school bus services and posts

notices on the Bus Éireann website

www.buseireann.ie.'

The OEP would like to reiterate the

importance of schools and all members

of the school communities being Winter

Ready. The OEP continues to work with

the Department of Education and Skills

through the Government Task Force on

Emergency Planning and related groups

to ensure information and guidance

is made available, which may be of

particular assistance to schools and

the wider education sector in planning

for and responding to emergencies and

particularly severe weather events.

The OEP is currently engaging with

the Department of Education and

Skills and the management bodies

for schools, including ETBI, regarding

the issues that arise when a status

red – severe weather – warning alert

is issued by Met Éireann, particularly

in relation to strong winds and storm

conditions, with a view to informing

future practice. Advice in the event of

such a red weather alert is a matter

of wider application as it is equally be

applicable to many others. The OEP

understands that on foot of these

consultations the Department of

Education and Skills plans to issue

guidance to schools to assist schools

in planning their response to a weather

forecast which is designated as a

red warning, particularly in relation to

strong winds and storm conditions.

The Department of Education and Skills

would also like to remind schools that

guidance on the protection of school

building services systems in cold

weather, which has been prepared by

its Building Unit, is currently available

on the Department’s website at http://

www.education.ie/en/School-Design/

Technical-Guidance-Documents/pbu_

guidance_schools_cold_weather.pdf



Wage Setting in the Context of the Crisis

Austria AT Finland FI Ireland IE Romania RO

Belgium BE France FR Italy IT Slovakia SK

Bulgaria BG Germany DE Luxembourg LU Slovenia SI

Croatia HR Greece EL Norway NO Spain ES

Cyprus CY Hungary HU Portugal PT

INTRODUCTION This ar ticle explores the impact of

the crisis and also the EU’s new

economic governance regime on

wage-setting mechanisms in the

twenty-eight EU member states plus

Norway. It examines changes in

several dimensions of wage setting:

main wage bargaining level(s);

horizontal coordination across

bargaining units; linkages between

the different levels involved in wage

setting, including opening and opt-

out clauses; extension procedures

and those governing continuation

of agreements beyond expiry;

minimum wage setting and indexation

mechanisms; and the volume

and duration of collective wage

agreements. It explores the relative

influence of economic and political

factors on the changes taking place,

and the respective roles of the social

par tners, governments and European

and international institutions. It

draws on contributions from EIRO’s

national correspondents in the

EU-28 plus Norway.

POLICY CONTEXT Since its onset in 2008, the economic

crisis has had sustained effects on

the level of economic activity, on

employment and, as demonstrated

in previous Eurofound studies, on

industrial relations. Amongst industrial

relations processes, changes to

wage-setting mechanisms appeared

prominent. Some of the changes

are likely to have been domestically

driven by the social partners or

by governments, but an additional

source of influence is the EU’s new

regime of economic governance.

Reforms to wage-setting mechanisms

have featured in the country-specific

recommendations (CSRs) issued to

several member states under the

European semester macro-economic

planning system. More starkly,

changes in wage-setting arrangements

have been required as a condition

of the financial assistance packages

provided by the ‘troika’ of European

and international institutions to

some countries. One result of these

changes is a decline in the volume of

collective wage bargaining in a sizeable

number of countries: 12 of the 25 for

which data were available reported

that numbers of wage agreements

concluded had fallen since 2008.

By Christian Welz, Senior Programme Manager Working Conditions and Industrial Relations (WCIR), European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working

Conditions and Paul Marginson, Professor of Industrial Relations, University of Warwick

CHANGES TO DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS OF WAGE SETTING There have been changes to one

or more aspects of wage-setting

mechanisms amongst the EU’s

twenty-eight member states plus

Norway, as follows:

change in the main level(s) of

bargaining has occurred in twelve

countries, predominantly involving

fur ther decentralisation (AT, BE, BG,

CY, EL, ES, FI, FR,IE, IT, RO, SI);

horizontal, cross-sectoral

coordination mechanisms across

bargaining units have seen change

in seven countries (AT, ES, HU, IE,

RO, SK, SE);

changes in linkages between

levels (under multi-tier bargaining

arrangements), including the

ordering between levels and the

use of opening and opt-out clauses,

have featured in sixteen countries

(AT, BG, CY, DE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HU,

IE, IT, NO, PT, SI, SE);

changes to extension arrangements

or their use have occurred in eight

countries (BG, DE, EL, IE, IT, PT,

RO, SK)

Country codes used in this article



Table 1: Changes in main levels of bargaining since 2008

Increased centralisation Increased decentralisation

BE: Government-imposed outcomes to 2011 and 2013 cross-sector wage bargaining rounds, with no wage margin for further negotiation at sector level.

AT: single metalworking agreement replaced by agreements covering each of six sub-sectors (2012).

FI: cross-sector wage agreements abandoned in 2007, but returned to in 2011 and 2013.

BG: acceleration of trend for sector agreements to be replaced by company ones.

CY: acceleration of trend for sector agreements to be replaced by company ones.

EL: legislative changes prioritising the company level and permitting negotiations with unspecified employee representatives in smaller companies prompted an upsurge in company agreements at the expense of sector ones.

ES: legislative change prioritising the company level, together with social partner encouragement, increased the weight of the company level in wage-setting.

FR: 2000 legislation requires companies with trade union representation to engage in annual pay negotiations.

IE: breakdown of national wage agreement following employer and government withdrawal (2009).

IT: 2011 cross-sector agreement weakened sector-level mandate over wage negotiations in favour of the company level.

RO: cross-sector agreement abolished under 2011 legislation, which also had the effect of paralysing negotiating activity in newly defined sectors. Wage negotiations now mainly at company level.

SI: social partners failed to agree on a renewal of the ‘fall back’ cross-sector agreement, which applied in the absence of a sector one (2009).

changes to procedures for

continuation of agreements beyond

expiry have taken place in five

countries (EE, EL, ES, HR, PT);

minimum wage-setting arrangements

have undergone change in ten

countries (CY, EL, ES, HR, HU, IE,

PL, PT, SI, SK); and

indexation mechanisms have seen

change in five countries (BE, CY, ES,

IT, LU).

One effect of these changes is a

decline in the volume of collective wage

bargaining in a number of countries: ten

of the twenty-five for which data were

available reported that numbers of

wage agreements concluded had fallen

since 2008.

SUBSTANTIAL CROSS-COUNTRY VARIATION There is, however, considerable variation

between countries in the extent to which

wage-setting mechanisms have been

subject to change. Change has been

concentrated amongst six countries,

whose wage-setting mechanisms have

each undergone multiple changes:

Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Portugal,

Romania and Spain. All six have been

in receipt of financial assistance

packages from the ‘troika’ of European

and international institutions. Under

the terms governing these packages,

changes to wage-setting mechanisms

were required in all except Spain.

In a further four countries, there have

been some changes to wage-setting

mechanisms: Croatia, Hungary, Italy

and Slovenia. Here, change has been

primarily driven by domestic actors –

either governments or employers and

trade unions.

Wage-setting mechanisms in a majority

of countries, nineteen, have seen



few or no changes since 2008. The

reasons for this relative stability include

the relatively muted impact of the

crisis in some countries, the marginal

role of collective bargaining to wage

setting in a few, and the capacity of

existing wage-setting arrangements

in several countries to respond to the

abrupt change in economic conditions

triggered by the crisis.

Table 2: Changes in the scope and continuity of collective agreements since 2008

Extension mechanism changed Use of existing extension mechanisms changed

Continuation of agreements beyond expiry

EL: 2011 law in effect suspends extension by restricting its application to employers’ association member companies.

BG: activation of hitherto unused extension procedures in some sectors.

EE: a 2012 legislative change requires the parties to agree continuation of agreements in place of it being automatic.

IE: extension via Registered Employment Agreements (concluded in some sectors) suspended following 2013 Supreme Court ruling.

DE: increase in the number of sectors where minimum wages declared legally binding, under posted workers legislation.

EL: 2012 law introduced a three-month limit on continuation of agreements.

SK: controversy over whether the consent of individual employers was required before applying extension procedure, resulting in three changes in legislation (2007, 2010, 2014).

IT: court rulings confirming the legal validity of Fiat’s new single-employer agreements call into question widespread practice of de facto extension of wage (and working time) clauses of sector agreements.

ES: 2012 law introduced a 12-month limit on continuation of agreements.

PT: 2012 Labour Code restricts extension procedures to sectors where employers’ organisation member companies employ >50% of the workforce.

HR: 2012 law introduced a three-month limit on continuation of agreements.

RO: 2011 Social Dialogue Act curtails extension by restricting its application to employers’ association member companies.

PT: 2009 law introduced an 18-month limit on continuation of agreements, extendable to five years by agreement between the parties

ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL FACTORS AS INFLUENCES ON CHANGESome changes were responding more

to economic influences, either macro

or micro, than to political ones. These

included changes in main bargaining

level(s), increased use of opening

and opt-out clauses in collective wage

agreements and changes in the duration

of agreements.

Political factors were comparatively more

prominent in influencing changes in the

principles ordering different levels of

bargaining; extension arrangements;

procedures for continuation of

agreements beyond expiry; minimum

wage setting and indexation

mechanisms.

INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES OF CHANGE Changes involving increased use

of opening and opt-out clauses and

in the duration of agreements were

more likely to derive from negotiations

between employers and trade unions

than from intervention by government.

Changes in the main level(s) of

bargaining were equally likely to

result from negotiations between the

social partners and intervention by

government.

Changes in the principles according to

which different levels of bargaining are

ordered; to extension mechanisms;

procedures for the continuation of

agreements beyond expiry; minimum

wage-setting mechanisms; and

indexation mechanisms were all more

likely to be the result of government

intervention than negotiation between

employers and trade unions. The

European and international institutions

were more likely to exercise influence

over these types of change.

Source: Eurofound 2014



INFLUENCE OF THE EU’S NEW ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE REGIME The impact of the ‘troika’ in inducing

changes to wage-setting arrangements

amongst those countries receiving

financial assistance packages is clear.

Government-imposed measures in

these countries have substantially

reconfigured wage-setting mechanisms.

The influence of CSRs under the

European semester macro-economic

planning regime is variable. Twelve

countries have been issued with CSRs

on wage setting or wage policy. In some

of the twelve, subsequent changes

seem consistent with those spelled

out in the respective CSR. Yet, the

impetus for these changes may have

been largely internal, driven forward

by domestic actors. In others, there

has been some change but this falls

somewhat short of that specified in the

respective CSR. In yet other countries,

CSRs would seem to have had no

discernible effect.

POLICY POINTERS Amongst the countries receiving

financial assistance from the ‘troika’,

the broader effect of multiple,

government-imposed changes has

been to reconfigure wage-setting

mechanisms by weakening or removing

key state supports for multi-employer

bargaining arrangements. Three main

supports are involved: the favourability

principle, which has governed the

ordering between different levels of

bargaining; extension procedures;

and procedures for continuation of

agreements beyond expiry. The capacity

of multi-employer bargaining in these

countries to comprehensively regulate

wages, hitherto a distinctive feature of

European industrial relations, has been

weakened accordingly.

CSRs under the EU’s new economic

governance regime seem primarily to be

aimed at ‘marketising’ collective wage

setting. Marketisation involves wage-

setting mechanisms becoming more

sensitive to the market circumstances

of companies through (further)

decentralisation. As such, CSRs have

mostly been targeted at countries with

multi-employer, rather than single-

employer, bargaining regimes.

Where changes have been

negotiated between employers and

trade unions, rather than being

imposed by governments, they have

tended to fur ther extend existing

directions of change, such as fur ther

decentralisation in the main level(s)

of collective bargaining and fur ther

scope for negotiation at company

level within sector and cross-sector

frameworks.

FURTHER INFORMATION This article draws on: Eurofound 2014,

Paul Marginson and Christian Welz,

Changes to Wage Setting Mechanisms

in the Context of the Crisis and the

EU’s new Economic Governance,

Dublin, http://www.eurofound.europa.

eu/eiro/studies/tn1402049s/

index.htm?utm_source=website_

item2&utm_medium=website&utm_

campaign=wagesetting20140618

and Eurofound 2013, Christian Welz

et al., Impact of the crisis on industrial

relations and working conditions in

Europe, Dublin, http://www.eurofound.

europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/

ef1398.htm

'Amongst the countries receiving financial assistance from the

‘troika’, the broader effect of multiple, government-imposed

changes has been to reconfigure wage-setting mechanisms by

weakening or removing key state supports for multi-employer

bargaining arrangements.'



The past six decades has seen a

steady, constant expansion in the

higher education sector leading to

an ever-greater emphasis being placed

upon the ‘golden formula’ of three

A-levels and a university degree.

However, as more and more people,

degree in hand, are struggling to find

employment and the fierce competition

for jobs between graduates frequently

makes the headlines this ‘golden

formula’ is losing its shine. A report

from the Institute of Public Policy

Research (IPPR) published earlier

this year to coincide with VQ Day

2014, revealed that many of the jobs

expected to drive economic growth

and mobility in the future will not

necessarily require this traditional

academic education pathway to get

there. Instead, the vocational path,

which includes apprenticeships and on

the job training, can open doors to an

endless array of careers.

The report, commissioned by the Edge

Foundation, investigates the changing

landscape of the workforce in the next

decade and predicts the top jobs of the

future – ninety per cent of which can be

attained via vocational qualifications1.

In 2022, the top three in-demand

occupations will all be in health and

care. Economic growth will drive

expansion, but the greatest influence

upon job creation will be the ageing

UK population. Due to the retiring mid-

skilled workforce, nearly three million

workers will be required in hospitals,

care homes and the community.

Further to this, traditional skilled

trades will remain in high demand.

Over the next eight years, nearly half a

million workers will be required within

skilled construction trades, ranging

from bricklayers to renewable energy

geothermal pump installers.

Vocational education can also act as a

pathway towards many roles historically

seen as accessible only to those

with a degree. Associate professional

careers, encompassing roles as

diverse as financial advisors and dental

technicians, will expand by a quarter

of a million additional jobs. All of these

roles can be secured through vocational


Research by the Edge Foundation

earlier this year2 found that many

vocational students felt that their

schools and parents did not support

them in their decision to pursue

vocational study. Many felt they would

have received greater support had

they followed the university route.

There is evidently a perception

issue when it comes to vocational

education; it has become viewed

by some as a second-tier offering.

However, the tide is cer tainly

beginning to turn.

Rising tuition fees have made the

university route increasingly costly,

with no guaranteed job at the end.

The array of vocational qualifications

on offer today is greater than

ever before Apprenticeships offer

career progression, as well as the

opportunity for entry into higher

education. Recent Government

research3 indicates that nearly twenty

per cent of those who complete

advanced apprenticeships go on to

higher education within a few years.

By Jan Hodges OBE, CEO of the Edge Foundation

Future routes to success- Raising esteem for practical learning

Note: The Edge Foundation is

an independent UK-based

education charity that is

dedicated to raising the

status of technical, practical

and vocational learning.

1 http://www.edge.co.uk/research

2 http://www.edge.co.uk/news/2014/february/children-labelled-too-clever-for-vocational-education

3 www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-progression-to-higher-education-2014-update

'In 2022, the top three in-demand occupations will all be in health

and care. Economic growth will drive expansion, but the greatest

influence upon job creation will be the ageing UK population.'



Vocational education is undergoing

an image change. As education

professionals, our job is to encourage

availability of knowledge and

information about all options available

to students. Parity of esteem is vital

to remove the archaic two-tiered

perception of post-16 education

options.

The fastest route to refreshing the tired

perception of vocational education is

through opening up the dialogue to a

wider audience. We need to loudly and

publicly extol the sheer variety and

quality of education options. There

is a huge array of courses available,

but this will remain insider knowledge

if confined to the pages of academic

trade publications. We need to rethink

our communications and refresh our

approach to those as yet untouched by

our message. We need to celebrate not

only the traditional vocational trades,

but the unusual ones as well. From

floristry to accounting, aeronautical

engineering to personal training, we

need to open the doors on vocational

education. This is the aim of initiatives

such as VQ Day, Adult Learners’

Week, The Skills Show and National

Apprenticeship Week. These events

raise the profile of technical, practical

and vocational learning. Through

celebrating the successes of the

learners, teachers and employers who

have triumphed in vocational education,

we hope to rejuvenate the dialogue

surrounding the subject.

The biggest challenge is making sure

schools tell young people and parents

about vocational options. Sadly, this

doesn’t happen as often as it should

– partly because schools with sixth

forms can see colleges as competitors,

'We need to celebrate not only the traditional vocational trades,

but the unusual ones as well. From floristry to accounting,

aeronautical engineering to personal training, we need to open

the doors on vocational education.'

and partly because degree-educated

teachers lack up to date information

about vocational qualifications and

careers.

The most forward-thinking colleges and

training providers strive to reach people

directly, both through traditional routes

such as local papers, and through

social media. The key is telling stories

about people who got where they

wanted to be via the vocational route

to success.

Technical, practical and vocational

education has a unique role to play in

the future job market, giving students

the edge in a competitive jobs market

by providing them with the skills,

experience and clear progression

routes they need to succeed. Vocational

qualifications can aid progression along

career paths, or facilitate entire career

changes. Through on the job learning,

vocational students are able to earn

both money and experience alongside

their education. Students can graduate

from their course entirely prepared for

the world of work and ready to hit the

ground running.

Jan Hodges OBE is CEO of the Edge

Foundation, an independent education

charity. This year Edge celebrates 10

years championing technical, practical

and vocational learning. Edge believes

that 'learning by doing' should be

valued equally with academic learning

and that all learners should experience

a mix of both. There are many paths to

success. www.edge.co.uk

Reforming Irish Apprenticeship

By Pat O’Mahony, ETBI Education Research Officer


SECTION 2 | APPRENTICESHIPS AUTUMN 2014 ETBI 23

THE WHEEL COMES FULL CIRCLEFor generations, Vocational

Education Committee (VEC) schools

provided those who eventually

became tradespersons with their

basic education through the Group

Certificate and the Intermediate

Certificate. They also provided many

who would take up apprenticeships

and similar employment with their

core vocational skills – woodwork,

metalwork, mechanical drawing, home

economics, typing and book-keeping.

From their inception in 1930, VECs,

and their predecessors, the Technical

Instruction Committees, going back

to 1899, provided apprentices with

all their off-the-job training until

AnCo (An Comhairle Oiliúna) and the

Regional Technical Colleges (RTCs) took

responsibility for much of this in the

1970s.

Given current developments in further

education and training (FET), it is worth

recalling that the original purpose of the

VECs was to administer continuation

(‘general and practical training in

preparation for employment in trades’)

and technical (‘pertaining to trades,

manufacturers, commerce and other

industrial pursuits’) education for 14- to

16-year-olds.

Now, with the former Irish Training and

Employment Authority�s (FÁS) Training

Services an integral part of the ETB

structure, the ETB connection to

apprenticeship training has come full

circle. Indeed, it is instructive to note

that the division between education

and training, which the Education

and Training Boards Act (2013) and

the Further Education and Training

Act (2013) brought to an end had

its origin in the early 1930s. At the

time, it seems that failure to agree a

role for education in the formation of

apprentices resulted in apprenticeship

being statutorily provided for in the

Apprenticeship Act (1931) rather

than in the Vocational Education Act

(1930). While the 1931 Act did provide

for apprentices receiving obligatory

technical education through the VECs, a

foundation had been laid for separating

apprenticeship from the education

system and a difficulty that would

encumber the full blossoming of FET for

more than four decades was incubated.

IRELAND’S PREOCCUPATION WITH THIRD-LEVEL EDUCATION From the late-1960s on, following

the introduction of free post-primary

education, enrolment and retention

in second-level education increased

dramatically. In VEC schools this

process went through a number

of phases. Firstly, pre-employment

courses were established for those

who had only completed the Group

Certificate and were predisposed to

leaving school. Then, the Vocational

Preparation and Training Programme

(VPTP), which eventually morphed into

the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA),

was introduced with the support of

the European Social Fund (ESF) to

enhance the employability of those

who would otherwise have left school

after the Intermediate Certificate. In

the 1980s, as the numbers remaining

on in VEC schools to do the Leaving

Certificate increased appreciably, and

as employment opportunities dried up,

the VEC sector innovatively developed a

raft of Post Leaving Certificate courses

(PLCs) to provide those who had

completed their Leaving Certificate, but

were not destined for third-level, with an

educational progression route or, more

likely, employability.

As the number of students completing

their Leaving Certificate increased,

more of these students began to

aspire to entering some form of third-

level institution. This aspiration was

facilitated by four developments over

the course of those decades: the

expansion in the number of third-level

institutions, a steady increase in the

range and diversity of courses in all

third-level institutions, the evolution of

a tertiary education grants scheme,

and the availability of European

Social Fund (ESF) support for those

undertaking courses in the RTCs/IoTs.

These developments, combined with a

widespread belief across Irish society

that the key to socioeconomic success

lay in ‘going to college’ meant that by

the mid-1990s, most parents saw a

Reforming Irish Apprenticeship

By Pat O’Mahony, ETBI Education Research Officer

critical both to real FET reform and to ETBs reimagining their future in the shadow of their past


24 ETBI AUTUMN 2014 SECTION 2 | APPRENTICESHIPS

third-level education as the route to a

better life.

Figure 1 tracks how Ireland, over

the course of a half century, became

obsessed with third-level education as

the principal means to achieving its

socioeconomic destiny.

In the ‘80s, young people with no

prospect of work remained in school

to complete their Leaving Certificate

and then a PLC course. Today many

undertake postgraduate studies,

often in vain pursuit of employability.

But it is not only at this level that

resources are wasted. A recent

HEA report noted that one in six2

who enter third-level don’t continue

into second year. While this raises

questions about the adequacy of

careers guidance in schools, it

also challenges us to reconsider

the suitability of third-level for a

significant minority of school leavers.

The 1995 White Paper on Education

noted that our third-level participation

rates lagged behind most other

European countries3. Today, however,

Ireland4 has the highest proportion

of young people with third-level

qualifications across the EU with 51.1

percent of 30-34 year olds having

tertiary qualifications compared with 36

percent across the EU. The EU target for

2010 is 40 percent for this age group.

We have concluded, in our euphoria

over progression to third-level, that the

job market will require mainly tertiary

graduates. Certainly, prosperity and

social cohesion depends on the extent

to which a proportion of the workforce

is highly skilled but, as studies in both

the US5 and Europe6 conclude, for the

foreseeable future, even in high tech

economies, some 50 percent of the

workforce will require medium-level

skills and some 15 percent will require

low-level skills.

IRELAND’S SKILLS’ CHALLENGE IS IN LOW AND MEDIUM SKILLS – IN FET At every occupational level, workers

will require ever increasing levels

of competence. But focusing

exclusively on high tech jobs requiring

tertiary qualifications would expose

a proportion of our citizens to

unemployment, poverty and exclusion.

Already, as NESC Reports7, there is

evidence of such a development with

23 percent of Irish households jobless

in 2010. The next-highest countries

were the UK and Belgium at 13

percent, with an average of 11 percent

for the 15 EU countries studied.

Furthermore, 56 percent of Ireland’s

jobless households contain children

as compared with 30 percent in the

other EU-15 countries. As the NESC

report acknowledges, an underlying

factor here is the disconnect between

the competences of those without

jobs and the competences required

in the workplace. This syndrome is

not, however, peculiar to Ireland. As a

recently published McKinsey report8

notes, ‘an overriding reason for young

people being held back is a lack of

skills relevant to the workplace’.

In fact, the report concludes that

when it comes to designing an

education system that provides

such skills, education providers,

employers and young people operate

in ‘parallel universes’. This situation

is exemplified by the extent to which

so many recent arrivals to Ireland hold

down low- to mid-level skill jobs at a

1 The data displayed in this figure is extracted from the 1995 White Paper on Education (p 93-94), Who Went to College in 2004? A National Survey

of New Entrants to Higher Education. The 2011 figure derives from unpublished data analysis undertaken by the ESRI in replicating the work of the

2006 report.2 http://www.hea.ie/node/12813 1995 White Paper on Education (p 93)4 http://www.mediahq.com/europeancommission/51936/ireland-tops-class-in-third-level-education-tables5 America’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs – see http://www.urban.org/UploadedPdf/411633_forgottenjobs.pdf6 See http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/etv/Upload/Information_resources/Bookshop/546/4086_en.pdf - p.137 http://files.nesc.ie/nesc_reports/en/137_Jobless_Households.pdf8 Education to Employment: getting Europe’s Youth into Work pp 5-15 - http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/social_sector/converting_education_to_

employment_in_europe

Figure 11



time when so many ‘locals’ fail to find

or hold such jobs.

The big skills challenge for Ireland is

in the area of medium- to low-level

skills and qualifications, in FET, where

apprenticeship is now widely recognised

as the education/training model best

suited to conferring employability and

good life prospects on those operating

from levels 4 to 6 on the National

Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).

Certainly, we need 40 to 50 percent of

school leavers progressing to higher

education. However, failure to build

future-oriented skills on the middle

to lower rungs of the qualifications

ladder could result in large sections of

the population failing to benefit from

economic growth generated by those

with high-level skills.

Since many young people and their

parents see the maintenance of

education and career options as a

key factor in making a decision about

pursuing an apprenticeship, the lack

of clear progression routes from

apprenticeship to higher education

militates against youngsters taking

the apprenticeship route. Instead,

a significant proportion of school

leavers, who for a variety of reasons

are unsuited to third-level studies at

the time they leave school, choose to

‘go to college’ to do courses for which

they are not suited and, inevitably,

drop out. Indeed, even where some

of these young people graduate they

often find that their qualification does

not bestow employability.

Would it not be better if these young

people entered employment through

an apprenticeship route on leaving

school, and later on had the option of

expanding their career and education

options by progressing to a related

course of study in higher education?

Unfortunately, for many years now,

a significant proportion of our young

people and their parents have been

dazzled by what third-level education

seems to promise.

The provision of clear progression

routes between apprenticeship and

third-level studies would assist in

changing these perceptions. But the

establishment of such routes would

require clear alignment between an

expanded range of apprenticeships

and the courses offered in IoTs. Those

contemplating an apprenticeship

should be able to see exactly how they

may progress to higher education on

completing the apprenticeship.

This is not a problem peculiar

to Ireland. As a special report

published by the Centre for Economic

Performance at London School of

Economics and Political Science notes:

‘Many young people wisely

want to keep open the option

of entering courses of higher

education when making post-

16 choices. Many of the more

able students, for whom

apprenticeship would be a

highly suitable choice, will only

opt for that path if it offers the

clear opportunity of qualifying

for further study at sub-degree



and degree level. One of

the important developments

needed in Modern

Apprenticeship is the provision

of clear routes through from

apprenticeship at NVQ Level 3

to part-time or full-time learning

at NVQ Levels 4 and 5 (higher

education)’.9

While Ireland is an extreme example

of a society besotted with third-level

education, few countries have been

immune to this contagion. As Lerman10,

in his 2014 report to the Canadian

Council of Chief Executives notes,

until recently, policymakers tended

to define skills in terms of academic

qualifications and there has been a

strong bias against career-focused

education among educators and

policymakers. In both Ireland11 and

North America this partiality is reflected

in the inadequacy of guidance for young

people who might be open to pursuing

a vocational rather than an academic

route to qualifications and work.

The old order is changing however,

and policy makers are realising that

any discussion of skills must go well

beyond academic attainment. A wide

range of reports stress employers’

demand for workers with strong

occupational skills.12 Of course, many

of these skills cannot be acquired

within the classroom as the attainment

of mastery requires the application

of what is learned in the context of a

practical task. Though we acknowledge

that surgeons, accountants, lawyers,

policemen and aircraft pilots can only

qualify by gaining hands-on experience

in the workplace, we have assumed

that lower-level skills can be acquired in

the classroom.

WHY THE APPRENTICESHIP MODEL? There is overwhelming support across

the EU and beyond for countries

developing their apprenticeship

systems and this may be summarised

as follows.

The great strength of apprenticeship

is that it delivers the competences

required in the workforce. This is crucial

at a time when employers’ global

criticism of the education system is that

the competences of new employees

do not match what is required in the

workplace13. Today, though 430,000

are on the live register, thousands of

jobs go unfilled because workers with

the requisite competences cannot be

sourced in Ireland.

Apprenticeship has the capacity

to facilitate skill development to

the benefit of businesses, their

employees and the wider society, at a

time when the gap between education

and the workplace is perceived

to be widening. Fur thermore, as

is evident from the experience in

countries like Germany, Australia,

Norway, Austria and Switzerland,

the apprenticeship model can

accommodate males and females

with a range of abilities and aptitudes

in a wide range of career areas –

from childcare and healthcare, to

construction, engineering, hospitality

and administration/office work.

Significantly also, in the strongest

economies of nor thern Europe,

apprenticeship has the suppor t of

labour unions, public and private

enterprise and government. It is also

interesting to note that, in Ireland,

a pilot ‘apprenticeship programme’

is about to commence in the area

of information technology – an area

that, until recently, many would

consider to be the preserve of the

ter tiar y graduate.

In Europe, support for apprenticeship is

virtually unanimous, as is evident from

the contents of a background paper

provided to the ET2020 Working Group

on Vocational Education and Training

(VET) in advance of its workshop in

Paris on 26 and 27 June 2014. This

paper cited the following support for

countries focusing more on vocational

education and apprenticeships.

Evidence in many EU countries

proves that apprenticeship-type

schemes can be a good solution for

9 http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/20248/1/Apprenticeship_A_Strategy_For_Growth.pdf - see p.810 http://www.ceocouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Lerman-Expanding-apprenticeship-training-in-Canada-April-2014.pdf11 See Young People and Vocational Choices in Ireland, City and Guilds Centre for Skills Development, London, 2013, for report on how young people

completing compulsory education make career and education decisions, particularly in relation to vocational routes. Also Section9.2.4 in ESRI’s

Leaving School in Ireland Report http://www.esri.ie/publications/latest_publications/view/index.xml?id=3944 12 See, for example, http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Insights/Browse-by-Content-Type/deloitte-review/

eadd148c49305310VgnVCM1000001a56f00aRCRD.htm13 See http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_Employment_MatchingSkillsLabourMarket_Report_2014.pdf and http://www.fit.ie/

index.php?page=ict-skills-audit

'The great strength of apprenticeship is that it delivers the

competences required in the workforce. This is crucial at a time

when employers’ global criticism of the education system is

that the competences of new employees do not match what is

required in the workplace.'



some of the present labour market

imbalances and benefit both learners

and employers.

In countries where apprenticeship-

type systems are well developed,

youth unemployment is usually

considerably lower than the EU

average. In Austria, Germany and

Switzerland the unemployment rate

for 15- to 24--year-olds is less than

9 percent, well below the 24 percent

in France, 35 percent in Italy and,

surprisingly given the standing of

its education system, 18 percent in

Finland.

An analysis of the factors affecting

employment growth in SMEs during

the first post-2009 phase shows a

clear positive relationship between

the growth in the share of the labour

force with a secondary qualification

in vocational and advanced

technical knowledge (including

apprenticeships) and employment

growth in the SME sector14.

Against this background, the

European Commission has proposed

apprenticeship as a key component

of a strategy to tackle youth

unemployment and social exclusion

aimed at giving young people offers

of jobs, education and training.

Apprenticeship-type schemes can be

attractive to young people and they

can facilitate a smoother transition

from learning to work. By combining

study and work, apprenticeship

programmes provide individuals

with an opportunity to acquire work

experience while enhancing their

skills in alignment with employer

requirements.

Because of their labour market

connectedness, apprenticeship-type

schemes can help to reduce skills

mismatch and ease transition from

education to work. It seems that

the skills mismatch is more serious

in countries lacking an extensive

apprenticeship programme.

At EU level, in July 2013 the

European Alliance for

Apprenticeship (EAfA)15 was

launched to increase the quality,

supply and attractiveness of

apprenticeships across Europe and

to change public perceptions of

this kind of training. The Alliance

brings together key stakeholders

from employment and education to

coordinate and upscale initiatives

for successful apprenticeship-type

schemes.

With its Declaration on the European

Alliance for Apprenticeships in

October 201316, the Council of the

EU confirmed its strong commitment

to combating youth unemployment

and inactivity through high-quality

apprenticeship schemes.

It is not just in Europe that

apprenticeship is being proposed

as a solution to problems besetting

economies and societies. Here, it is

instructive to note the following17.

In May 2012, the G20 Labour and

Employment Ministers concluded

that countries should: ‘...Promote,

and where necessary, strengthen

quality apprenticeships systems ...’

with a view to fostering ‘... sharing

of experience in the design and

implementation of apprenticeships

programmes and exploring ways to

identify common principles across

the G20 countries by facilitating a

dialogue among our social partners

who have presented us with a

shared sense of the importance of

apprenticeships.’

The following month, the G20

Leaders’ Summit endorsed these

orientations. At this summit, the B20

14 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/facts-figures-analysis/performance-review/files/supporting-documents/2013/annual-report-

smes-2013_en.pdf 15 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-634_en.htm 16 http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/lsa/139011.pdf 20 See, for example, http://www.deloitte.com/view/

en_US/us/Insights/Browse-by-Content-Type/deloitte-review/eadd148c49305310VgnVCM1000001a56f00aRCRD.htm17 See ILO Contribution to the G20 Task Force on Employment (November 2012) at http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/

documents/genericdocument/wcms_190188.pdf



Task Force Recommendations to the

G20 leaders called for scaling up ‘...

the number, quality and image of

internships and apprenticeships for

young people ...’

In June 2012, the tripartite

constituents at the International

Labour Conference’s committee on

the youth employment crisis called on

the International Labour Organisation

(ILO) to engage in the promotion of

quality apprenticeships, including in

developing countries.

There is growing concern about a rising

skills gap alongside high unemployment

in Canada, the United States and

Australia18. In an Accenture survey

of large Canadian companies, 59

percent expressed concern about the

availability of needed skills and, in the

United States, 46 percent of companies

have similar worries. There seems to

be a widespread concern about the

capacity of our 21st century education

systems to equip young people with the

competences required for both work

and living. As Lerman19, in the Canadian

study, highlights there seems to be

a revival of technical and vocational

education and training, especially

apprenticeships, with the OECD, the

IMF and the ILO all recommending the

expansion of apprenticeship schemes.

Apprenticeship initiatives have been

launched across the world, in countries

as diverse as the UK, Australia,

India and China20. The number of

apprenticeships has tripled in Australia

since 1996 and has jumped by a factor

of 16 in the United Kingdom since

1990.

Lerman posits that apprenticeship

training tends to promote higher

employment in manufacturing as the

manufacturing sector accounts for 22

percent of German employment and

16 percent of Swiss employment, but

only 10 percent of US employment.

This is hugely significant for Ireland,

where growing the productive side of

the economy, of which manufacturing

is a major part, is critical to prosperity

and cohesion. Manufacturing in Ireland

accounts for a similar percentage

(11%) of civilian employment to that

in the UK and Denmark, but only half

that in Germany21. Manufacturing is

the sector with the greatest capacity

to employ those with medium to low-

level skills and if highly-developed

economies like Germany and

Switzerland can sustain a thriving

manufacturing sector, why can’t

Ireland? We seem to be under the

misconception that manufacturing

can only thrive in low-wage countries

and that our destiny lies exclusively

in the high tech world; hence our

preoccupation with tertiary education

at the expense of FET.

REVIEW OF APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING IN IRELAND When the Review of Apprenticeship

Training in Ireland22 emerged in

January 2014, the possibility of it

remaining on the shelf for years

before being actioned seemed strong.

It was pleasing therefore to see an

implementation plan23 published on 30

June – a plan that includes a number

of time-lined actions that have the

potential to significantly change the

FET landscape over the course of the

next decade.

ETBI made a detailed submission to

the Apprenticeship Review Group and

it is interesting to note the similarities

between ETBI’s submission and the

Review Group’s report – a similarity

that is substantially rooted in a

general agreement about what needs

to be done about reforming FET in

Ireland. Frankly, there is considerable

stakeholder agreement across the

globe about the benefits a society can

gain from establishing an effective

apprenticeship programme, an

agreement that runs counter to the

emphasis that Ireland has placed on

sending as many school leavers as

possible to third-level education. Here

nearly 70 percent of school leavers

transfer to third-level education, while

in Germany, apprenticeship is the

route into work and further career

development for nearly two-thirds of

young people.

Besides, the number and range of

designated apprenticeships is much

lower in Ireland than in the strong

economies of northern Europe,

with Irish apprenticeship essentially

confined to technical occupations

in construction, engineering, and

motor mechanics. In northern Europe

generally, apprenticeship covers a

much wider range of activities - retail,

financial services, health care, office

administration, etc. Germany has some

340 apprenticeships compared to 26

in Ireland.

While a detailed discussion of the

Review of Apprenticeship Training in

Ireland report is beyond the scope of

this article, the following summarises

the report’s recommendations from an

ETB perspective.

An apprenticeship should involve a

blended (alternating) combination of

18 http://www.ceocouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Lerman-Expanding-apprenticeship-training-in-Canada-April-2014.pdf 19 http://www.ceocouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Lerman-Expanding-apprenticeship-training-in-Canada-April-2014.pdf 20 Smith, Erika. 2013. 'Occupational Identity in Australian Traineeships: An Initial Exploration.' Technical and Vocational Education and Training:

Issues, Concerns and Prospects. 18. 131-4121 http://www.iae.ie/publications/publication/the-future-of-manufacturing-in-ireland-interim-rep/document 22 http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Policy-Reports/Review-of-Apprenticeship-Training-in-Ireland.pdf 23 http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Education-Reports/Apprenticeship-Implementation-Plan.pdf



on-the-job employer-based training

(more than 50% of time) and off-

the-job training that prepares the

apprentice for a specific occupation

and leads to a qualification on

the NFQ at any level from Level 5

upwards.

There should be a move away from

placing all apprenticeships at level 6

on the NFQ so the level may reflect

the amount of learning involved in

completing the apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships programmes should

involve the integration of transversal

skills, particularly literacy, numeracy,

maths, science and ICT.

The minimum entry level for each

apprenticeship programme should be

reviewed, while ensuring appropriate

pre-apprenticeship programmes are

available to those unable to meet

these requirements.

Existing e-learning resources should

be used to optimum effect, and over

time additional resources should be

developed to support the delivery of

the programmes.

The structure and duration for each

apprenticeship should reflect the

time needed to achieve the learning

outcomes for each occupation, with

entry-level apprenticeships (those

at level 5) being completed in a

minimum of two years and those at

higher levels taking longer.

Existing apprenticeships should

continue to operate as at present,

under the management of SOLAS.

Following a transition period, these

should be integrated into the new

operational arrangements, with

devolved functions for the ETBs and

HEIs depending on the level of the

apprenticeship.

The curriculum for each family of

existing trades should be reviewed

as a group and updated as a

matter of urgency, thus ensuring

that core common modules are

provided wherever feasible, without

diluting particular occupational

requirements. Based on the updated

learning outcomes needed for each

occupation, the apprenticeship

programme should be placed at

an appropriate level on the NFQ.

Consideration should be given

to contracting out the curriculum

reviews to ETBs or HEIs.

Clear opportunities for progression to

higher education from existing trades

should be developed and publicised;

and consideration should be given

to establishing a master craftsman

qualification.

All apprentices should be employed



under a contract of apprenticeship.

On qualification, apprenticeship

‘graduates’ should be qualified to

work autonomously in a competent,

professional and independent capacity.

Apprenticeships should be open

to persons of all ages above the

statutory school leaving age.

Employers taking on an apprentice

should have the capacity to carry out

the required training and be obliged

to release the apprentice for off-the-

job training.

Assessors should have the right

to visit the employer or training

premises, subject to minimum notice.

SOLAS should continue to have

overall legal authority for the

administration of the apprenticeship

programme. However, an

Apprenticeship Council should be

established, hosted by SOLAS, but

involving an equal partnership and

close cooperation between SOLAS

(representing FET) and the HEA,

representing higher education.

The Council should report to the

Minister, be enterprise-led, comprise

representatives from the DES,

SOLAS, QQI, higher education, further

education, business and the trade

unions; and the Chairperson should

be appointed by the Minister for

Education and Skills.

In many respects, the most

significant recommendation in the

report, from an ETB perspective,

relates to the establishment of a

ring-fenced fund to promote the

development and establishment of

apprenticeships in new occupational

areas. This process should

commence with the Apprenticeship

Council inviting proposals from

consortia of industries/education/

training providers. The report

envisages that these proposals

should, inter alia, set out:

the extent to which the proposers

are representative of industry,

the numbers to be trained,

clear evidence of labour-market

need and the future demand for

apprenticeships,

the capacity of the industry to

provide the high quality training of

apprentices in the workplace,

the willingness of employers to

recruit and meet the relevant

costs associated with the

apprenticeship,

the willingness of employers and

education and training providers to

engage collaboratively in

developing and delivering the

apprenticeships,

the depth and transferability of the

skills to be acquired, the entry

levels proposed, and how learners

would be equipped for progression

to the next level of learning.

The report envisages that, if the

Apprenticeship Council considers

a proposal appropriate for a new

apprenticeship, it would make

a decision about whether the

apprenticeship should be at Further

Education (FE) or Higher Education

(HE) and then transmit the proposal

to either the HEA or SOLAS for further

advice. The HEA or SOLAS would

then probably commission a scoping

study on the proposal or have it

commissioned through either an ETB

or a HEI. The scoping study would

involve a thorough examination of

all aspects of the proposal and the

study report would inform the decision

of the Apprenticeship Council about

the viability of the proposal for a new

apprenticeship.

Then, if the Apprenticeship Council

approves the apprenticeship

initiative, it would send it back to the

HEA or SOLAS, as appropriate, for

curriculum development, which would

be undertaken by an ETB or a HEI,

depending on the level. Though there

would be a report to the Apprenticeship

Council after the curriculum

development stage, this report would

only be about demonstrating that the

relevant sectoral actors had been

engaged in the process; the curriculum

would be a matter for the HEA or

SOLAS.

All programmes for new apprenticeships

would be subject to the normal QQI

validation and quality assurance

arrangements. Once an apprenticeship

programme is validated, the HEA or

SOLAS would either tender for delivery

of the programme’s education and

training phases, or assign delivery

responsibility direct to particular HEIs

or ETBs.

The functions of the Apprenticeship

Council could be as follows:

To advise on the design, duration,

entry levels and ongoing provision

of apprenticeship programmes at

FE and HE level, in line with

national skill needs and to ensure

optimum quality, efficiency and

effectiveness.

To advise on the introduction

of apprenticeships in additional

occupations.

To promote seamless progression

within occupational pathways

and between further and higher

education and training for

participants in apprenticeship

programmes - particularly

important and relevant to

removing a major barrier to young

people entering apprenticeships.

To advise on the number of

apprenticeship places needed in

various occupations to respond to

labour market needs.

To advise on the cessation

of funding for apprenticeships

'Besides, the number and range of designated apprenticeships is

much lower in Ireland than in the strong economies of northern

Europe, with Irish apprenticeship essentially confined to technical

occupations in construction, engineering, and motor mechanics.'



in occupations where the level of

demand no longer justifies

continued provision.

To undertake scoping studies,

evaluation, data gathering and

research and manpower

forecasting necessary to support

the work of the Council.

Recommendations regarding the role

of SOLAS

To host the operation of the

Apprenticeship Council.

To operate a national register of

apprentices allowing for integration

and transfer of data from ETBS

and HEIs to SOLAS.

To operate a publicly accessible

national database of employers

approved to provide

apprenticeships, based on data

transfer from the ETBs.

To promote, plan, coordinate and

monitor the implementation of an

enterprise-led National

Apprenticeship Programme at

further education level.

To establish devolved

management systems for

apprenticeship provision through

further and higher education

and training institutions and other

providers.

To provide for the commissioning

of scoping studies and the

development of curricula, at

the request of the Apprenticeship

Council, in respect of

apprenticeships at further

education level, working to

the maximum extent possible

through ETBs, and ensuring

the full engagement of employers,

trade unions, education and

training providers and professional

bodies in these processes.

To ensure programmes conform to

the quality assurance

arrangements of Quality and

Qualifications Ireland (QQI).

To undertake labour market

intelligence, manpower

forecasting, statistical analysis

and research necessary to

support a National Apprenticeship

programme.

Recommendations regarding the role

of ETBs

Subject to the approval of SOLAS and

the resources available, ETBs should

have responsibility for the following:

Providing apprenticeship

programmes at further education

level in accordance with an agreed

national framework and the quality

assurance arrangements of the QQI.

Ensuring that programmes of

apprenticeship operate to

consistent high-quality national

standards.

Ensuring appropriate mechanisms

are in place for the accreditation

of prior learning of those entering

apprenticeships.

Undertaking or commissioning

scoping studies and curriculum

development for FET programmes

when requested to do so;

and ensuring the full engagement

of employers, trade unions,

education and training providers

and professional bodies in these

processes.

Promoting dialogue and

coordination in the development

and implementation of

apprenticeship programmes

between employers, trade unions,

and education and training

providers.

Providing the support services

necessary for the operation of

apprenticeships at FE level, such

as management information

systems, reporting and evaluation

frameworks, teaching and learning

resources, staff development

and mentoring, ensuring

coordination and synergy between

FE and HE approaches

Registering apprentices on FE

programmes, ensuring appropriate

data transfer to SOLAS, and

ensuring compliance with entry

criteria.

Working with programme providers

and employers to ensure

appropriate scheduling of on-

and off-the-job learning for existing

apprenticeships, during the

transition phase, and for FE

apprenticeships generally.

Determining the capacity of

employers to provide the required

on-the-job training for apprentices.

Operating a local register of

employers approved for the

provision of apprenticeships, and

ensuring such data is transferred

to the SOLAS database.

Providing for the continuing

coordination of existing

apprenticeship programmes for a

transition period, and ensuring

their integration into the new

governance arrangements in the

longer term.

APPRENTICESHIP IMPLEMENTATION PLAN The prompt publication of the

implementation plan signals

government commitment to reforming

apprenticeship in the context of the

wider reform of FET.

The implementation plan progresses a

number of significant recommendations

in the review report and commits the

State to the following action:

The establishment of an

apprenticeship council by Q3 of

2014.

The completion of the review of five

existing trades and a review of the

system for revising all existing trades

by Q4 of 2014.

'In northern Europe generally, apprenticeship covers a much

wider range of activities - retail, financial services, health care,

office administration, etc. Germany has some 340 apprenticeships

compared to 26 in Ireland.'



The Apprenticeship Council to call

proposals for new apprenticeships

by Q4 (2014), the proposals to

be submitted to the Council by

Q1 (2015) and evaluated by the

Council by Q2 of 2015, with a report

identifying viable proposals for new

apprenticeships going to the Minister

for Education and Skills in Q2 of

2015. The plan provides for the

Minister approving the allocation of

resources for establishing the new

apprenticeships in the same quarter

of 2015.

The development of the new

apprenticeships (curricula, awarding

arrangements, apprenticeship

contracts, progression pathways,

recruitment process and allocation of

places to registered employers) to be

completed between Q4 2015 and

Q2 2016.

Legislation to underpin the whole new

apprenticeship system to be enacted

by Q1 2016.

CONCLUDING REMARKS While it is unclear how apprenticeships

will be designated as FE

apprenticeships, thus falling within

the ambit of SOLAS and the ETBs,

the proposal to expand the range of

apprenticeships has huge implication

for ETBs. The apprenticeship model

is very much in the ascendant, a

development much influenced by what

is manifestly working well in countries

such as Germany, Switzerland and

Austria. Indeed it is likely that Ireland

will, over the period of a decade or

more, significantly expand its range of

apprenticeships. This development will

inevitably involve the ETBs as it seems

that most new apprenticeships will be

FE apprenticeships. Hence the ETB

sector needs to engage urgently with

this development.

Ireland has obvious concerns

around skills formation and youth

unemployment. In terms of the latter, a

2013 Cedefop report24 notes that our

NEET25 rate for 18 - 24 year-olds and

our unemployment rate for 20 – 34

year-olds are higher (24.0% and 17.2%,

respectively) than the EU averages

(16.5% and 13.1%, respectively).

On the basis of experience in many

countries, broadening out the range

of apprenticeships, especially if done

in conjunction with the establishment

of an effective pre-apprenticeship

programme, might be expected to

address these issues.

The two most significant impediments

to Ireland undertaking the kind of

FET reform that could really make a

difference to our collective future are,

firstly, a fear that we cannot afford

it, and secondly, a fear on the part

of many currently employed in the

provision of FET that it might threaten

their careers. These concerns, while

understandable, are not well-founded.

Firstly, bringing a significant proportion

of NEETs into apprenticeship and pre-

apprenticeship would increase the

demand for education and training.

Secondly, moving towards an

apprenticeship system similar to what

operates in Germany, over a period

of 10 years, would not necessarily

place a significant increase on an

overstretched exchequer, as it should

be possible to generate synergies

between the existing PLC and IoT

programmes and an expanded

apprenticeship programme. Expanding

the apprenticeship programme would

inevitably result in a rebalancing

between number of PLC, IoT and ETB

training centre students, on the one

side, and those in apprenticeship on

the other. This would see facilities and

staff currently employed to deliver ETB

and/or IoT courses being released

either to deliver or support off-the-job

training for apprentices. Furthermore,

the current welfare payments

being made to NEETs could also be

leveraged to fund such programmes

– with the welfare payments being

converted into apprenticeship

allowances.

It should also be possible to harvest

other synergies. For example, it

should be possible to use IoT teaching

facilities for the provision of off-the-

job training at times when these

facilities are not being used for third-

level students. Similarly, ETB schools

and centres could be used to provide

off-the-job education at times other

than when they are being used for

mainstream education purposes.

If apprenticeship is reformed along

the lines proposed in the Review of

Apprenticeship Training report, many

more young people will be given the

opportunity to progress seamlessly

from school to the acquisition of

competences and qualifications that

provide employability and progression

routes to third-level education for those

wishing to pursue such studies. The

current system deprives many young

people of such opportunities, at a huge

cost to both those young people and

the wider economy.

24 See p.40 - Cedefop Research Paper No. 21 July, 201325 NEET is a relatively new acronym that stands for 'Not in Education, Employment or Training'

'What is being proposed also makes provision for the continuous

development of the skills our economy needs to grow

sustainably in a world where socioeconomic and technological

change is perpetually taking the global village in new directions.'



What is being proposed also

makes provision for the continuous

development of the skills our economy

needs to grow sustainably in a world

where socioeconomic and technological

change is perpetually taking the

global village in new directions. Most

significantly, the proposals offer an

initial preparation-for-work framework

that ensures that new workforce

entrants are job-ready and both willing

and able to adapt to ever-changing

circumstances, thus ensuring our

prosperity and cohesion in the decades

that lie ahead. As a small open

economy, Irish business, both public

and private, must constantly adjust

to the ever-changing demands of the

global marketplace.

The effective reform of apprenticeship

is not something that can be done on

a piecemeal basis. It must entail an

integrated and coherent package of

reforms. It is not just about expanding

the range of apprenticeships, as

was assumed in England. Nor is it

about improving the training, nor

promoting the attractiveness of

apprenticeship, nor any other single

reform. The total apprenticeship

package needs to be reformed to

provide a seamless progression

route from pre-apprenticeship right

up to ter tiary studies – a route that

allows participants to exit the route

with worthwhile competences and

qualifications (and access to other

education and training pathways

without having to return to where

they commenced their journey) at

the end of each stage on the route.

If apprenticeship is reformed in this

way, it will intuitively be attractive to

young people, their parents and those

who guide them because they will

clearly see its limitless possibilities.

Finally, in every sense, ETBs have

the potential, if appropriately

resourced, to provide cost-effective

off-the-job education and training

to apprentices across a wide range

of career areas in the communities

where the apprentices reside, thus

facilitating the apprentices and their

families and reducing the cost to the

State. What is being proposed for

reforming apprenticeship in Ireland

will undoubtedly pose challenges

for ETBs. But, if these challenges

are addressed strategically, these

challenges offer ETBs the possibility

of becoming the engine-room for

Ireland’s socio-economic renewal in

the 2020s and 2030s and, in the

process, fulfilling its original mission.

If recent decades could be termed

the third-level era, the next two

decades have the potential to

become the FET era.

Pat O’Mahony is ETBI Education

Research Officer. He also represents

the European Federation of Education

Employers (EFEE) on the EU’s ET2020

Working Group on Vocational Education

and Training.



Wales has an impressive, all

age, apprenticeship system,

of which we are proud.

During the recent economic downturn,

apprenticeships have played an

invaluable role in helping our young

people into long-term employment

and allowing our businesses to grow.

That said, apprenticeships are not

an isolated policy in themselves

but are in fact part of an integrated

suite of measures that have helped

Wales to minimise the worst impacts

of the recession and deliver on

our Programme for Government

commitments. In this article I outline

how Wales, using a range of tools, has

responded to the recession and will

explain more about our plans to help

Wales evolve into a more highly-skilled

and competitive nation.

I am sure that many have a specific

image of Wales, perhaps gained

from visiting our country and seeing

its stunning landscapes or the

regeneration of Cardiff Bay – home to

our legislature, the Senedd. The area

has a rich and diverse heritage. This

was once a booming port, exporting

millions of tons of coal from the

South Wales valleys to countries all

over the world.

Heavy industry made Wales the

powerhouse of the industrial revolution

but the twentieth century saw huge

changes in our economy as heavy

industry declined. It’s true to say we’re

still dealing with the consequences

of this shift. There are parts of

Wales where unemployment is still

a concern and opportunities are

limited - both in urban and rural

areas. That’s unacceptable to us in

the Welsh Government and we’re

doing all we can to drive up economic

activity, reaching out to people in our

communities and helping them into

meaningful, paid employment.

The Welsh economy of today is heavily

reliant on small/micro businesses

and the public sector. Recently, we

have developed a range of Enterprise

Zones to drive economic growth in

specific areas such as Anglesey. We

do have important large companies

too. In North Wales, Airbus, one of

our largest private sector companies,

manufactures commercial aircraft wings

that are used across the world. Airbus

needs to recruit people of the highest

calibre to maintain its market position.

The economic downturn of the last

decade had a huge impact on the

communities throughout Wales, from

loss of local employment, services

and amenities; to an impact on health;

declines in business productivity and

competitiveness; and a significant

scarring on communities as levels of

unemployment increased and the drift

into economic inactivity appeared to be

the only solution for many people.

With this is mind, the Welsh

Government and its partners

considered what could be done to

alleviate the impact of the 2008

recession by understanding local

challenges and how to best respond

to them. We wanted to ensure that

our people and employers were best

placed to take advantage of the

eventual up-turn.

The policy levers available to the Welsh

Government were fairly constrained

given that policy decisions around

taxation and some aspects of

employment are made at a UK level.

We concluded that a renewed focus on

skills and increased flexibility, in terms

of labour market options, would produce

new opportunities and help make Wales

more resilient to the impact of the

economic downturn. Our response was

to re-launch one existing programme and

introduce new initiatives in a logical and

timely manner.

REACT – SUPPORTING REDUNDANCYAt the early stages of the economic

downturn, redundancy notifications

increased as companies began

to shrink and constrict. The ReAct

programme was re-launched to provide

skills training and wage support to

help workers return to the labour

market as quickly as possible. It

was a unique intervention in that it

quickly provided individuals affected

Responding to the Recession and Building for the Future: A view from WalesBy Ken Skates, Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Welsh Government


subsidy was offered to encourage

and support employees (including

apprentices) to attend training on

the days where their company had

no work for them with the result that

redundancies were less likely and

their skills capabilities were improving.

To be eligible, businesses had to

prove financial viability prior to the

economic downturn and demonstrate

that although they were currently

experiencing adverse trading conditions

they had clear sustainability plans in

place.

The initial phase of the ProAct scheme

focused on the automotive sector.

This was due to the rapid reduction

in automotive production globally

and the potential irreparable damage

market consolidation could have on

Welsh-based manufacturing. It was

then made more widely available to

businesses across all sectors. The

majority of support was given to wider

PROACT – SUPPORTING BUSINESS The next step was to take positive

action that could counter the effect

of the constriction of the labour

requirements. ProAct was developed to

help businesses survive the recession

by providing support that would

prevent or reduce redundancies and

also improve the skills of the current

workforce in preparation for improved

trading conditions. The scheme

specifically focused on boosting skills

productivity and efficiency levels, in

an attempt to safeguard existing jobs,

particularly in key sectors across the

Welsh economy.

As production levels decreased, short-

time working arrangements became

a key feature in Wales and a wage

by redundancy with support - much

sooner than schemes running in other

parts of the UK. Indeed, recruitment

subsidy elements of early intervention

schemes elsewhere in the UK (e.g. the

Department of Work and Pensions’ Six

Month Offer) were discontinued by the

2010 incoming Coalition Government.

The programme, partially funded by the

European Social Fund, supported over

24,000 redundant workers with demand

surging as the recession continued.

An independent evaluation stated that

the programme was generally regarded

as being highly successful, offering

individually tailored and economically

relevant support at a particularly difficult

time for individuals and employers alike.

It supported a wide range of ages and

types of business across Wales and

55% of employers involved indicated

that ReAct had resulted in improved

business performance: a great result

during a time of recession.




Social Fund. It aimed to create 16,000

job opportunities over four years, for

unemployed young people, aged 16-

24, giving them work experience for

a six-month period. This is paid at or

above the National Minimum Wage

for a minimum of 25 hours per week.

It offers job ready participants an

enhanced package of support from day

one of unemployment, with the focus on

supporting the individual to remain in,

or progress into, sustained employment.

The jobs created are additional to those

that would otherwise be filled through

usual recruitment.

There are four strands of support,

including:

Private sector – where the majority of

jobs have been created.

Third sector – supporting community-

based opportunities for young people

who require a more intensive support

in the workplace.

Self-Employment – a bursary to

help young people to start their own

business.

Graduates – adding value to the

existing GO Wales programme.

The programme has exceeded virtually

all of its targets to create and fill jobs.

Over 4,000 opportunities were filled in

the first year and by July 2014, 14,597

job opportunities had been created with

11,318 jobs filled.

Outcomes for participants have been

positive with the majority in productive

employment (including apprenticeships)

either with their Jobs Growth Wales

employer or another organisation at the

end of their six-month opportunity. For

example, 82% of young people in the

private sector strand have progressed

into sustained employment, an

apprenticeship or further learning.

THE YOUNG RECRUITS PROGRAMME The Young Recruits Programme supports

employers to take on new or additional

apprenticeship places, via a wage

subsidy. It is targeted to support young

unemployment levels continued to rise

dramatically. The risk of unemployment

becoming entrenched together with the

culture of generational unemployment

that already existed in certain parts

of Wales called for a strengthened

approach around the transition of young

people from education into employment.

The response resulted in the

introduction of three programmes:

The Young Recruits Programme (to

stimulate recruitment demand from

employers for new apprenticeship

places); Pathways to Apprenticeships

(to enable young people who could not

find apprenticeships to start working

for their qualifications at the time

they were seeking employment); and

Jobs Growth Wales to stimulate job

placements to enable young people to

gain work experience

JOBS GROWTH WALESJobs Growth Wales is an unparalleled

success story. It has helped thousands

of young people into meaningful,

paid job opportunities that pave the

way to permanent employment. The

programme has had a significant impact

on helping reduce youth unemployment

by creating job opportunities that

would simply not have existed without

government support. Latest labour

market statistics show that youth

unemployment continues to fall faster

in Wales than in the UK as a whole.

The programme was launched in April

2012, with support from the European

manufacturing sector and construction

companies.

The programme demonstrated some

interesting additional benefits, for

example, companies purchasing

training in ‘lean’ and leadership skills

reported increases in productivity

from factors such as improved quality

control procedures, increased flexibility

of the workforce and improvements

in individual employee responsibility.

Also, a substantial majority of

employers reported increases in their

competitiveness which they attributed

to ProAct and the supported training

during the short-time working periods.

Many companies said that they would

have made additional redundancies in

the absence of ProAct and just over

10% reported that without the support

they would have closed altogether. Over

half of the companies interviewed were

of the opinion that making additional

redundancies would have affected the

company’s ability to compete in the

future. Almost two-thirds of companies

with a non-Welsh parent company

considered that ProAct support had

a positive impact on the parent

company’s attitude to redundancies

within the Welsh operations.

An independent evaluation concluded

that the delivery of the programme

demonstrated real innovation in its

approach with both a focus on serving

the needs of employers who faced

pressing financial problems and

ensuring that there was a return on the

investment of public money.

As the economy improved and

businesses in Wales were looking

to grow, ProAct was replaced by the

Skills Growth Wales programme which

ensured that the workforce had the

right skills to succeed.

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING During 2009 the recession showed

signs of having a disproportionate

impact on young people, as youth

'Apprentices themselves were

very positive about both their

on-the-job and off-the-job

experiences and placed a high

value on the qualifications

they are achieving, as well

as the technical skills they

are developing.'



Educational Maintenance Allowance

and support was made available for

tool kits relevant for the intended job.

The Pathway also provided a work

placement lasting for approximately

eight weeks.

Over 50% of young people either

progressed into an apprenticeship

or further education at a higher level

while others went into employment. An

evaluation showed that the programme

had improved participants’ general

capacity to develop employability and

had increased prospects of long-term

career development.

During 2014, the key features of the

programme were mainstreamed into

our new Planning and Funding System

for those aged 16 and over (excluding

higher education provision). This has

been done via the creation of our

new Learning Programmes approach.

From now on, all full-time learners in

our colleges and schools system will

gain an insight into industry through a

PATHWAYS TO APPRENTICESHIP AND LEARNING PROGRAMMES The Pathways to Apprenticeship

Programme, which was partially funded

by European Structural Funds, ran from

2009 until July 2014. The programme

provided a flexible route for young

people to acquire the underpinning

knowledge and skills that are relevant

to employers and as such making them

more attractive to the employment

market. The programme was delivered

by Further Education colleges and

was based around apprenticeship

standards. It was designed to lead

into employment, further training or an

employed status apprenticeship.

The Pathways were developed for

priority economic sectors; these

included ‘traditional routes’ such as

construction and engineering, as well

as other routes such as hospitality,

life science and creative and cultural

studies. As an incentive to remain

in full-time learning, individuals were

able to claim a non-means tested

people between the ages of 16 and 24,

and who were not firmly established in

the workforce, by helping them to access

new apprenticeship places. The annual

target started at 1,000 and increased to

2,000 in 2012. However, unprecedented

demand saw the target exceeded in

2012/13 with in excess of 4,000

apprenticeship opportunities supported.

The evaluation found that the wage

subsidy had been very effective in

attracting new employers and generating

opportunities which otherwise wouldn’t

have been available. For example 58% of

employers had never had an Apprentice

before and a further 14% had not had

an Apprentice in the last 18 months.

The level of subsidy (£50 per week for

a maximum of 52 weeks) was felt to be

about right – high enough to incentivise

employers but not so high as to

encourage employers to take on young

people purely for financial reasons.

Some 86% of employers expected to

employ their young recruit beyond their

apprenticeship.

In addition to delivering immediate

benefits, the programme has created

outcomes that will be sustained

following the removal of the subsidy.

The base of employers engaged with

apprenticeships has expanded thus

increasing the potential for future

placements and productivity increases;

and a substantial majority of employers

reported that they had become

generally more favourable to the

recruitment of young people.

Apprentices themselves were very

positive about both their on-the-job

and off-the-job experiences and placed

a high value on the qualifications

they are achieving, as well as the

technical skills they are developing. It

seems likely that rates of completion

and of sustained employment for

Young Recruits apprenticeships will

be comparable with those of other

apprentices – suggesting that the

availability of subsidy has not lowered

standards of delivery and retention.



will be targeted primarily at businesses

within Enterprise Zones, Priority Sectors

and City Regions and will also include

anchor and regionally important

companies across Wales.

We have been listening carefully to

employers’ views throughout this

process. We will be playing our part in

making sure qualifications are relevant

to employers’ needs that skills are

better utilised, and that local and

regional, as well as national needs, are

considered.

The comprehensive package of support

that we provided over the course of

the recession was an example of

Government intervention at its best.

We acted quickly to support those who

had been made redundant and provided

them with the skills and re-training

they needed to find employment. We

saw young people struggling to find

work and gave them the opportunities

they needed to find a full-time position.

We have also heavily invested in

apprenticeships, giving young people

the right mixture of skills, qualifications

and experience they need in the

employment market. Make no mistake

– each of these interventions has

contributed towards Wales’ emergence

from the recession. We have helped

thousands of people into meaningful

employment and given our businesses

the necessary support to create a

highly-skilled and well-trained workforce.

Looking ahead to the next 10 years,

we’re embarking on one of the most

comprehensive reforms of the skills

system since devolution. This is a

pivotal moment for Wales. We are now

in a global skills race and it’s a race we

cannot afford to lose.

Further information on Wales can be

found at www.wales.gov.uk

necessary to ensure we develop a

resilient, responsive and sustainable

system for the future and the detailed

timeline for delivery. The four key

themes of the Statement and Plan

cover:

Skills for jobs and growth;

Skills that respond to local needs;

Skills that employers value, and

Skills to help people into work.

The vision can only become a

reality with responsible action from

government, employers and individuals.

Key to this will be more integrated,

streamlined and simplified employment

and skills delivery that avoids

duplication and competition.

The Skills Implementation Plan, launched

on 15th July, focuses on the policy

actions from now until 2016 working with

employers, unions and delivery partners.

These are part of the longer-term reform

required to secure a resilient and

sustainable skills system for Wales.

For example, our new Skills Gateway will

provide easy access for both individuals

and employers wishing to access skills

support in the future. The new Skills

Gateway will bring together a variety

of skills development programmes in

one place, making it much easier for

employers to equip their staff with the

right skills for the job.

A Skills Priorities Programme will also

be established. Led by Wales’ college

sector; the programme will respond

to the needs of local employers with

industry-led skills and training solutions

- helping learners gain the right skills

for the job.

Meanwhile, an industry-led Flexible

Skills Programme will provide

opportunities for testing new

approaches to delivering skills. This

work experience element, as well as

a bundle of appropriate qualifications.

Colleges’ planning and funding will

be predicated not on individual

qualifications but via a comprehensive

package of learning with a defined

purpose and outcome for progression

to employment or higher education.

Although youth unemployment levels are

dropping in Wales and more young people

are engaged with education and training,

we want to do more to ensure a positive

future for our young people through

development of their employability skills.

A key element to our approach is the

creation of our Youth Engagement and

Progression Framework, which is being

integrated throughout the education and

skills system.

At the heart of this approach is a simple

commitment – a Youth Guarantee –

every young person will have access

to a guaranteed place at the age

of 16. This will be supported by a

common application system, an early

identification system for those at risk of

disengagement, an effective brokerage

system and relevant provision supported

by a range of stakeholders. For schools,

we have implemented a new Welsh

Baccalaureate qualification which places

more emphasis on development of

skills for work and higher education.

We are also making sure our education

qualifications are more relevant to

employers’ needs and establishing a

new organisation (Qualifications Wales)

to oversee the system.

LOOKING FORWARD – POLICY STATEMENT ON SKILLS AND SKILLS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN My focus in this article has been on

the measures the Welsh Government

introduced to alleviate the worst

impacts of the recession; but we are

now looking to the future. We want

to take a long-term view of the skills

system. Early this year, I launched the

Policy Statement on Skills which was

followed by the Skills Implementation

Plan. These set out the policy changes

'We have heavily invested in apprenticeships, giving young people

the right mixture of skills, qualifications and experience they need

in the employment market.'



In-company trainer competences

With increasing emphasis on apprenticeship and work-based learning generally Maria

Todorova1, of the European Commission’s, DG Education and Culture looks at what can be learned

from the work that the European Commission, Cedefop and EU Member States have undertaken

in this increasingly important aspect of further education and training.

INTRODUCTIONIn times of rapid technological change,

training in companies becomes

crucial for raising productivity and

competitiveness. According to

Eurostat, employees of 45% of small

and 49% of large companies in the EU

take part in training.30

This training takes place in a variety

of forms (internal and external,

short or long duration, mostly

non-formal, but sometimes when

publicly supported – also formal,

etc.) depending on the needs of the

companies and their employees.

Yet, one dimension is common to all

forms: to meet these needs, training

ought to be provided by competent

trainers or owners, managers and

employees with training functions.

For many years the prevailing attention

of researchers, experts and public

bodies has been devoted to teachers’

competences. Less was known about

in-company training specialists and

their proficiency. The widespread

understanding was that training in

companies and the competences of

trainers is mostly companies’ business.

The companies are the main

stakeholders and training providers.

Their conviction, internal learning

organisation and financial resources are

of utmost importance for work-based

and work-related training. At the same

time, many factors contribute to our

emerging understanding of the benefits

of a synchronised approach to training

on the part of all relevant stakeholders.

Globalisation, competition for talent

and resources and the economic crisis

signal the need for harmonisation

between public labour-market policies,

companies’ need for increased

productivity and schools’ educational

outcomes. The ageing society requires

changing approaches on the part

of business, education and public

services in order to utilise fully the

capacity of older workers and to

update or upgrade their skills. The

Pedagogy needs to shift towards

learning outcomes, targeted provision

and addressing multiculturalism. This

complex situation requires companies,

training providers, social partners and

public services to work collaboratively

in designing and providing in-company

training and most particularly – in

preparing trainers for their tasks.

In order to support the efforts of the

stakeholders across Europe in this

respect, the European Commission

and the European Centre for Vocational

Education and Training, Cedefop, have

been working on the competence

development of in-company trainers

since 2000, supporting an EU Network

(TTNet), a focus group on teachers

and trainers in vocational education

and training (VET) and a Thematic

working group (TWG) on VET trainers in

companies. This article sheds light on

the main elements of their work. The

collected evidence, shared experience

and reached conclusions can be of use

to stakeholders across Europe.

THE COMPETENCES OF TRAINERS AND WHY THEY MATTER The conceptualisation of teachers

and trainers competences is

linked to professionalism and the

professionalisation of trainers;

identifying the required competences

is crucial to introducing or developing

new trainers’ qualifications and/or

profiles within the reform process

towards ‘dualisation’ of VET provision

and enhancing work-based learning

(WBL). Professional standards

and frameworks, national/sector

requirements or registration regimes

with expected sets and levels of

competences and the corresponding

training programmes exist across

countries as tools and approaches

for ensuring the adequacy of the

trainers’ competences from both a

private and public perspective.

1 The article contains material from the publication 'Guiding principles on professional development of trainers in vocational education and training',

a joint publication of the European Commission and Cedefop. Acknowledgment is due to Ms Irina Jemeljanova, Cedefop who originally compiled the

text of the publication.

2 European social statistics: continuing vocational training survey (CVTS4) – Data 2010.

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Continuing_vocational_training_statistics



contemporary approaches to

teaching,

The capacity to work with

heterogeneous groups of learners

and to make effective use of ICT and

open learning environments, and

The ability to help learners acquire

transversal competences and, in the

case of VET specialists the capacity

to integrate an understanding of the

company and the sector into the

teaching process.

At least four groups of competences

are considered important to a

different extent for trainers in

VET, including those who train in

companies.

A. Competences related to the specific technical domain, sectorWhile there is no common approach to

defining such competences, most of

the examples imply that trainers should

possess a qualification in the specific

field in which they train. Strong subject-

specific or vocational skills are usually

one of the reasons why employees are

assigned to train apprentices or other

staff in a company. Understanding

current developments in the industry

and sector are also important to

trainers assisting companies to

identify emerging needs and address

future challenges.

B. Competences related to serving the company’s strategy and enhancing its competitiveness through trainingTrainers should have a very good

knowledge of their company’s core

business, structure, activities,

working methods, processes and

strategies as well as its skills

needs and gaps. The development

of company-related competences is

a matter that needs to be fur ther

explored in the future.

The latter is linked to ensuring high

quality of training provision. Although

further research on the impact

(effect) of trainers’ competences

on learners’ and employees’

competences and skills and also on

companies’ performance, productivity

and innovation is required, it is clear

that there is a direct link between

the quality of trainers’ work and the

learning outcomes.

The Adult learning and Continuous

VET part of the in-company training

calls for rethinking the roles,

functions and professional identity of

those who train new employees and

retrain older workers.

Training adds a ‘learning’ dimension

to the work of companies and

becomes part of their strategy for

competitiveness and innovation.

WHO ARE WE TALKING ABOUT AND WHO TRAINS IN COMPANIES?In general terms, there are two large

groups of trainers in companies:

a comparatively small group of in-

company trainers who deliver training

as a major part of their occupational

role – full-time or part-time, and

a comparatively large group of

employees, whose occupational role

includes a training-related function -

owner, general manager, supervisor,

skilled worker.

WHAT ARE THE TRAINERS IN COMPANIES EXPECTED TO KNOW AND TO DO?There is a huge variety of trainers’

functions, profiles, titles and roles across

EU Member States, depending on their

positions in companies (part-time/full-

time; IVET/CVET; external/internal, etc.).

This results in different competence

requirements depending on the situation.

However, evidence and analyses reveal

that in spite of national differences, a

core set of trainer competences can

be identified based on typical tasks

and common areas of competence

requirements.

Typical common tasks of trainers in

VET are: selecting appropriate training

methods for developing practical skills

in a real work situation, planning and

implementing training, assessing

and providing feedback to trainees.

Generally, trainers are also expected

to ensure a link between the worlds of

work and education, though often this

link is the responsibility of a school and

its teachers.

Nowadays, trainers often need to go

beyond conveying vocational knowledge

and skills and provide support to

workers in practical learning. This

means that that the ‘instructor’ needs

also to be a coach and a mentor and be

able to provide guidance and stimulate

a learning culture in enterprises. In

addition, the whole context of training

provision is changing due to structural

and systemic developments, including

demographic shifts, migration,

globalisation and higher expectations

on the part of companies regarding

training offers from training providers

and trainers. Besides, there is

increasing pressure - from business,

learners and the wider society - on

teachers and trainers to ensure that

learning outcomes are aligned with the

skills needs of the workplace. All this

has an impact on the competences that

trainers are required to have – not only

in companies, but also in VET schools

and other education and training

institutions.

While a complete list of trainer

competences has not been compiled,

policy makers and experts agree that

teachers and trainers should have the

following competences:

Current vocational knowledge

and skills,

Pedagogical skills including

'Globalisation, competition for talent and resources and the

economic crisis signal the need for harmonisation between

public labour-market policies, companies’ need for increased

productivity and schools’ educational outcomes. '



experience in the field

awareness of legislation and

developments in the sector and

industry

knowledge of relevant

qualification requirements

awareness of related occupations in

the sector

Company specific competences awareness of the company’s core

business and structure, activities

and working methods, strategy and

objectives, staff’s profile

awareness of the emerging skills and

skill needs of the employees in the

company

TRAINING-RELATED COMPETENCES1. Training (learning) needs assessment ability to assess the existing

competences of the staff

(apprentices, trainees), identify

competence gaps and relevant

training (learning) needs

ability to combine company needs

and individual aspirations of learners

ability to distinguish between short-

term and long-term learning needs

2. Training design ability to design a training programme

based on learning objectives and

outcomes and learning needs of

specific learner groups

ability to assess and select relevant

content and methodology

ability to specify theoretical and

practical parts of the programme,

methodology, evaluation methods,

and resources needed

ability to plan the time schedule of

the programme

3. Training delivery knowledge of training and learning

D. Transversal competences - interpersonal, conflict management, ICT skills, etc.This group of competences is not

specific to the training role of trainers

but cuts across their various activities

and tasks and enables trainers to work

more effectively.

To cater to the needs of heterogeneous

groups of learners, trainers need

to have: social and interpersonal

competences, conflict management

skills, a good understanding of

multiculturalism, critical thinking skills

and communication skills. Social

competences have been identified as

the most important competences a

trainer should have.31 Trainers should

also be able to use ICT to support

learning and engage in networking and

communities of practice. The capacity

to work autonomously and responsibly

and the ability to work in teams and

to cooperate with other professionals

are also among expected competences

and skills.

As agents of lifelong learning, trainers

should have: a capacity for self-

reflection and be able to identify their

own strengths and weaknesses; the

ability to assess their own teaching;

and take responsibility for their own

continuing professional development

and further learning.

GENERIC IN-COMPANY TRAINER COMPETENCE SET Based on the collected examples across

countries, an ideal, generic set of

competences along the four main groups

of competences has been proposed.32

Competences related to technical domain, sector qualification in the sector/trade

good knowledge of the subject

C. Pedagogical/didactical competence, training-related competencesIn most cases, trainers are expected

to have: a good command of

pedagogy, including some proof

of pedagogical competence or

relevant pedagogical training; an

understanding of the theory of

learning and/or an understanding of

teaching and learning approaches.

Depending on their par ticular

responsibilities, they can be expected

to know how to design training

programmes and courses, and how

to carry out training needs analyses.

The continuing shift towards learning

outcomes in training means that

trainers need to have an awareness

of this approach and an ability to

apply it in their work. Optionally,

trainers can be expected to design or

develop training materials.

Pedagogical competence also

includes skills related to the practical

implementation of training: time

planning, distribution of content,

creating a positive and inclusive

learning environment, observing and

understanding group dynamics, group

management, and selecting methods

appropriate to specific learner

abilities and needs, including special

education needs.

Assessment of learner progress

and learning outcomes is growing in

importance and is forming a significant

part of trainers’ work. Trainers

should be aware of summative and

formative assessment methods, be

able to choose the most appropriate

assessment methods for the training

being delivered and the learning

objectives, as well as being able to

provide feedback to learners on their

progress and promote further learning.

3 European Commission; Danish Technological Institute (2012). Challenges and trends in continuing development of skills and career development

of the European workforce: survey report. http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/vocational-policy/doc/forum-survey_en.pdf

4 Cedefop, 2013, Trainers in continuing VET: emerging competence profile. Luxembourg: Publications Office



The set of competences outlined

above should prove useful in

a number of dif ferent contexts

- for defining requirements or

competence frameworks for

training specialists in companies;

for creating an appropriate

combination of competences

for emerging trainer profiles,

notably in systems introducing

or reinforcing apprenticeship; for

designing competence development

programmes for trainers; and for

the assessment, validation and

recognition of training competences

for technical specialists.

Maria Todorova is currently a policy

of ficer in the Directorate general

for Education and Culture at the

European Commission, in Brussels,

working in the Unit in charge of

Vocational Education and Training,

Adult learning, and the Erasmus+

programme.

Between 2009 and 2012, she was

an exper t at Cedefop, Greece, where

she was the coordinator of the

Thematic Network on VET teachers

and trainers (TTNet).

communication skills

presentation skills

use of ICT to facilitate learning

critical thinking

networking skills

multicultural awareness

conflict management

self-assessment and self-

development (learning to learn)

ability to identify own knowledge and

competence gaps and learning needs

ability to identify relevant and high

quality training options for updating

one’s skills and competences

To expect that all categories of

trainers should possess the same

sets and levels of competences

might present too much of a

challenge or even be unrealistic.

Indeed, it is entirely understandable

that the combination and level of

competences would be different

for trainers in specific settings. On

the basis of best practice, there

are many, sometimes innovative

or alternative ways of ensuring the

adequacy of trainers competences,

for example, through team work or the

complementarity of in-company and

training centre provision.

facilitation methods and techniques;

group dynamics; learning styles;

equal opportunities principles; ethical

principles

ability to create a positive and

stimulating learning environment

ability to motivate learners to

apply their knowledge, skills and

competence in workplace situations

ability to select and apply appropriate

training methods and techniques and

flexibility of approach

4. Assessment of learning knowledge of formative and

summative evaluation methods

ability to assess the comprehension

and progress of the learners

ability to provide feedback and,

possibly, guidance to learners

ability to apply various assessment

and evaluation methods and

techniques

ability to assess the training

programme and identify issues for

improvement

Transversal competences: project management

positive attitude

ability to work in a team


SECTION 3 | LEAVING CERTIFICATE ROUNDUP AUTUMN 2014 ETBI 43

Dunshaughlin Community College, Co. MeathScholar of the year 2014, Johanna VonKietzell of Dunshaughlin Community College being presented with her award by Peter Kierans, CE of LMETB and Shane Foley, Principal of Dunshaughlin Community College.

High Achievers

Blessington Community College, Blessington, Co. Wicklow This photo shows Leia Judge, who achieved an incredible 6A1 grades (625 points) in her Leaving Certificate, with Principal Kieran Burke.

Coláiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn, Dún na nGallPríomhoide na scoile, Micheál Ó Giobúin ag déanamh comhghairdeas le hAisling Ní Bhraoin agus an Leas-Phríomhoide Úna Ní Bhriain ag déanamh mar an gcéanna le Mollie Nic Fionntaí – beirt dhalta a bhain amach thar 600 pointe san Ard Teist 2014. Déanann Mol-lie stair don scoil, Coláiste Ailigh mar go bhfuil sí an chéad mhac léinn le dul fhad le hOllscoil Oxford, Sasana – áit a dhéanfaidh sí staidéar ar Dlí agus an Dlí Eorpach. Tá Aisling ag dul fhad le Coláiste Ollscoile, Baile Átha Cliath le staidéar le bheith mar Fisiteiripeoir.

Causeway Comprehensive School, Causeway, Co. KerryIt fell to Lixnaw native Peter O’Brien to achieve the honour of being Causeway Comprehensive’s top scoring pupil in terms of Leaving Certificate points this year, with an astounding 610 points. Peter, who is moving on to study Pharmacy in University College Cork, reaped the rewards of a sterling six years of dedicated work in Causeway. A diligent and hardworking pupil, Peter proved the value of the combination of hard work, determination, innate talent and excellence in the teaching and transmission of academic material in Causeway Comprehensive. It was with great pride that teachers saw Peter realise his full potential, and he is a success story which will surely continue to grow.

St. Paul’s Community College, WaterfordCongratulations to Jason Power for his outstanding achievement in securing 500+ points in this year's Leaving Certificate. St. Paul’s are delighted to announce that Jason is the first recipient of their Bursary Award for the student with the best Leaving Certificate results and they wish him the very best in his degree course in U.C.C.



critical in its design. I formed a small

group in the school which included two

teachers, a year head and a member

of our parents’ council. Following a

few meetings we recognised that the

following areas should be addressed:

1. Improving the motivation, delivery

and communication of homework

2. Provision of a communication tool

for all upcoming school events,

subject information, extracurricular

information etc

3. Reduction of paper usage in the

school

4. PR of our school

5. Accessibility of exam timetables,

class timetables and letters

6. That parents were enabled to receive

up-to-date information via push

messages on the app

With this in mind I began to design and

build the App. We decided as a group

homework, literacy and numeracy. The

provision of a common communication

tool for students, parents and teachers

was something I felt worth exploring.

Once I had the design completed I

contacted John Malone from an app

development company for a highly

professional hosting and support service

for the app and iSchoolApp emerged.

I believe it was critical that the app would

be free to download for all users in

order to achieve whole school use from

the school population. John and I then

investigated the App and its applications

to education and John tailored the

software to be extremely user friendly

and effective. We also designed online

video tutorials and a manual to help

support the school in editing the app.

We are proud to say that Ireland's first

secondary school app came into fruition

and it was launched by the previous

Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí

Quinn in September 2013. The Minister

expressed interest in a national roll out.

HOW WE IMPLEMENTED ISCHOOLAPP As Deputy Principal of the school

I became aware that in order to

implement the app on a whole school

level different school needs would

have to be addressed by the app.

I also realised that the app would

have to benefit parents, students and

teachers and all of these factors were

iSchoolApp is your branded school

Mobile App that communicates

directly with iPhone and Android

devices. It provides schools with an

easy way to communicate with parents

and students and can help your school

reduce costs. It can be fully customised

to meet your school’s requirements.

With the support of IPB Insurance,

iSchoolApp is being rolled out to all

ETB second-level schools in the coming

months. The set-up cost and hosting

for the first year are supported by IPB

Insurance. The cost to the school after

that is €36 + vat per month. As soon

as your school’s app is ready, we will

be in contact to help you promote and

customise your app.

iSchoolApp was developed and launched

in the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB

school, St. Finian’s Community College,

Swords. It was designed and developed

by Deputy Principal Adrian Flynn, in

conjunction with the app development

company that is now called iSchoolApp

(www.ischool-app.ie).

ISCHOOLAPP AND ST. FINIAN’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE, SWORDS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN The concept emerged when I began to

investigate the potential of utilising app

technology to enhance teaching and

learning in the college in order to improve

student engagement in areas such as

iSchoolApp National RolloutBy Adrian Flynn, Deputy Principal, St. Finian’s Community College, Swords

'We constantly update the

app with exam timetables,

school letters and push

text messages and this

keeps the App interactive

for everyone, reduces

paper costs and enhances

teaching and learning.'



Louth and Meath Education and

Training Board hosted the first

Spraoi since the amalgamation

of Louth VEC and Meath VEC. The

initial idea of Spraoi came from

Peter Kierans who in 2010, as CEO

of County Meath VEC, suggested an

evening of entertainment especially

for the six Meath Youthreach

Centres. The idea was brought to

the coordinators and staff of the

centres who jumped at the chance to

perform on the county stage.

There are six Youthreach Centres

in Meath located in Trim, Kells,

Laytown, Asbourne with two in Navan

and two centres in Louth located

in Drogheda and Dundalk. In 2013

Drogheda Youthreach were special

guests of the last Spraoi na Mí and

represented their county proudly.

This year, it involved over 100

students and 20 teachers

preforming on the stage of the

Barbican in Drogheda. The event was

coordinated by the Youth Officer

of LMETB Elma McMahon.

David Molloy and David

O’Connor led the wonderful

backstage crew which included

staff and students from all

8 centres.

The CEO of LMETB, Peter

Kierans said 'Spraoí na Mí

was a resounding success

every year in Meath. This

year we renamed the event Spraoí

Mór and brought the event to new

audiences in the Barbican Centre in

Louth and included our two centres

from Dundalk and Drogheda. The

work involved in the preparation

and production of this wonderful

event is now part of the annual

Youthreach calendar'.

LMETB hosts first Spraoi Mór for 8 Youthreach Centres

to roll the App out to second year first

as we had surveyed the parents and

realised that there was a definite issue

with homework motivation and delivery

in this year.

We set about introducing homework

strategies to scaffold students in

completing homework to a higher

standard and using ICT methods to

increase their motivation and delivery

of the same. This developed into a

whole school approach. The strategies

are now embedded practice.

The teachers of second year and I

introduced Google App software to share

homework and teaching resources in

a cloud-based environment. We easily

created student and parent logins and

passwords and we linked this to this on

our school app.

Following a highly successful parent

information evening for second years’

parents and students downloaded

the app and began utilising it. The

attitudinal change that it has brought

about for students, teachers and parents

is exciting and progressive. This is

evident by students and parents being

interviewed on recent RTÉ news footage.

As a school we used the same roll

out model with first years and third

years. From this point I noticed that

the App was flourishing throughout the

school and that students were now

downloading it. I also noticed that the

App had enhanced areas that I had

not previously foreseen, for example

student pride and reduced pressure on

secretarial staff.

We constantly update the app with

exam timetables, school letters and

push text messages and this keeps the

App interactive for everyone, reduces

paper costs and enhances teaching and

learning.

This is our story but once the app

is tailored by your school to support

your teaching and learning and your

communication needs it will flourish in

many other ways.



I am delighted to have this

opportunity at this new juncture in

the history of vocational education

in Ireland to reflect on the intertwined

history of Foróige and the Education

and Training Boards and to consider

some innovative approaches as to how

we can continue to work together to

build a better Ireland through youth and

community development.

A PAST INTERTWINEDForóige, or Macra na Tuaithe as it

was initially known, was founded in

1952 and complemented the strong

vision of the vocational education

movement to transform the nature

of education in Ireland and to make

it accessible to a much broader

range of young people. The very first

meeting of Macra na Tuaithe took

place in Mooncoin Vocational School

(now called Coláiste Cois Siúire) in

1952 and it was deemed to be an

event of such importance that it was

attended by both the Minister

for Education, Sean Moylan and the

Minister for Agriculture, Thomas Walsh.

Speaking at the meeting Minister

Moylan said:

'There can be no remedy for our

manifold national ills if we cannot

create a spirit of courage and

enterprise in our young people.'

This sentiment surely resonates as

strongly in Ireland 2014 as it did in

Ireland 1952.

The first 12 Macra na Tuaithe Clubs

were set up in VEC schools and were

facilitated by the Rural Science Teachers

of the time, who saw them as a means

of implementing the extra-curricular

activities that were fundamental to their

new approach to teaching rural science

and home economics.

Foróige was inextricably linked to the

Vocational Education System and this

bond remains strong to this very day. A

deep-rooted belief in the transformative

power of education, both formal and

non-formal, continues to drive both

organisations.

In 1982 Co. Dublin VEC, in partnership

with Foróige, established the first

Youth Services in Ireland in Tallaght

and Blanchardstown. Since this time

we have continued to work in proud

partnership with the VECs/ETBs.

A FUTURE FULL OF POSSIBILITYWhat is good for our young people

is good for our country and it is

impossible to think about economic

and social success without focusing

on the vital part that youth will play

in Ireland’s regeneration. It is rapidly

becoming clear that non-formal

education is one of the education

frontiers of the 21st century and those

countries that most embrace and

support it will reap the economic and

social rewards long into the future.

Now more than ever, it is vital that our

young people are equipped with the right

skills and aptitudes to prepare them to

deal with the challenges of 21st century

living. All of our young people deserve

to be given the opportunity to excel.

Skills in the areas of entrepreneurship,

leadership and civic engagement, to

name but a few, are not addressed

exclusively through the formal education

system and the youth work sector has a

vital role to play in complementing and

advancing these aptitudes.

A recently published Accenture report

titled Closing the Skills Gap in Ireland

established that there is a growing

disconnect between employers and

employees about skills. Over the next

three years employers have identified

that they will need a workforce of great

leaders, strong communicators, team

players and innovators. As I see it, we

can have the best-trained accountants,

technicians or lawyers in the world but if

they cannot communicate effectively with

others, work as part of a team or think

creatively about overcoming a problem

then they will never be at their best.

A number of years ago 300 of the top

CEOs in the USA were brought together

by Harvard to look at education in the

FROM A PAST INTERTWINED TO A FUTURE FULL OF POSSIBILITY

Education and Training BoardsForóige and the

By Seán Campbell, Chief Executive Officer of Foróige

The opeing of thje first Macra naTuaithe - later Foróige Club - at Mooncoin Vocational School 14th March 1952



Surely it is time to rediscover our

roots and intertwined educational

missions and for Foróige and the

ETBs to again embark on a pioneering

journey to jointly equip young people

with the skills, attitudes and knowledge

necessary for 21st century success.

21st century – a remarkable outcome of

that gathering was the realisation that

the attributes that the CEOs identified

as being the key to their success were

not skills acquired through formal

education, but rather those acquired by

chance - in many cases by involvement

in sport, community or church activities

by good mentoring, good teachers or

good parenting.

So if we can identify the skills we need

for success, as individuals and as

Ireland Inc., can we create a curriculum

to develop these skills in young

people? Foróige�s Best Practice Unit, in

partnership with the UNESCO Chair in

Children, Youth and Civic Engagement

in NUI Galway, has done just that. We

have created a number of programmes

that teach young people these

emotional intelligence skills to a high

level and get participants to practise

and develop these skills while engaged

in community activism.

A three-year study overseen by NUI

Galway and Penn State University in

the USA found that young people who

take part in the Foróige leadership

programme acquire and retain skills

such as critical thinking, communication

skills, planning and goal-setting

skills, problem solving, resilience and

empathy. We know that these are the

skills that give young people the edge

in business, politics and life and the

time has come again to review how

the formal and non-formal education

sectors work together to make sure

that our young people are being

educated for the 21st century.

Services to young people have been

particularly hard hit in recent years

with over 30% cuts in funding to the

youth sector. It is ironic that for the

first time in our history we know what

works in terms of youth development,

yet youth work is being stifled by

huge cuts in government funding at a

time when we need to invest in young

people and believe in their potential. By

Since its founding in 1952, Foróige has grown to be Ireland�s largest and

most progressive youth organisation, working with over 56,000 young people

across all 26 counties every year. Young people who are involved in Foróige

are empowered to develop their own abilities and attributes, to think for

themselves, to develop resilience, to make things happen and to contribute to

their community and society. As a result, they develop greater self-confidence,

self-reliance and greater capacity to take charge of their lives. All of Foróige�s

clubs, projects, services and education programmes are designed to achieve

this aim.

Foróige's purpose is to involve young people consciously and actively in their

own development and in the development of society. The organisation uses

a multi-pronged approach in its service provision which enables it to meet

the developmental needs of young people in general as well as focusing on

vulnerable young people with specific needs.

The Foróige flagship programmes, which include youth entrepreneurship, youth

leadership, youth mentorship and youth citizenship, have drawn national,

European and international acclaim. They are also widely recognised as setting

best practice benchmarks on a global scale. At the heart of all of Foróige’s

interactions is a passionate belief in the awe-inspiring potential of every young

person and a belief that our youth hold the key to a brighter Ireland.

FORÓIGE TODAY

Young people from Foróige (from all parts of the country) enjoying a recent drug and alcohol free beach music festival called 'Band on the Strand' in Lacken Co. Mayo.

investing now we will reap the benefits

for generations to come. This is not

about the feel-good factor – it makes

business and economic sense to

invest in youth as the next generation

of employees, entrepreneurs, citizens,

business and political leaders.

There is now an opportunity

to develop and scale up

these programmes, not only

in Foróige, but also through

the ETB school system to

ensure that as many young

people as possible have

access to evidence-based,

impactful programmes. It is our

responsibility to make sure that

all young people are educated

for the 21st century and with

some joined up thinking and a

small shift in how we perceive

education, I believe we can

radically change the outcomes

we are achieving for young

people and for Ireland.



from others in their group that they

may not have had any communication

with prior to their workshop. They found

that they all had more in common than

previously thought and got the chance

to speak to new people.

PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES / HOBBIESStaying busy helps young people

focus on positive ways to help deal

with stress rather than concentrating

on negative feelings and behaviours.

During their Breathe workshops,

students are given a huge array of

art supplies, writing material and

technology equipment to help them

express their ideas and feelings

through whatever means. As one

student stated in their feedback form:

‘The opportunity to open up and

express yourself was a good change.

We had huge freedom of choice.’

They also recognised the importance

of having activities / hobbies outside

of the school environment in order to

give them a healthy work/life balance.

On a number of forms, students stated

that in their workshop they learned not

to take themselves ‘too seriously’, to

solve a problem one step at a time and

the importance of relaxation.

‘Today I learned that sometimes I

need to just take a step back and

just breathe. You can’t solve all your

problems at once. ‘

ASK SOMEONE FOR HELPAnother key topic that is covered in the

Breathe student workshops is the need

out and confused. And to make matters

worse, young people are bombarded

by conflicting messages from parents/

guardians, friends and society. Today’s

younger generation see more of what

life has to offer – both the good and

the bad - on television, in school, in

magazines or on the Internet. When

a young person’s mood disrupts their

ability to function on a day-to-day basis,

it may indicate a serious emotional

disorder. According to the WHO report,

a factor that can help protect students

from this is Emotional Intelligence

(EI) – an ability to monitor one’s and

other’s emotions, to distinguish or

identify among them, and to use the

information to guide ones thinking

and actions. It states that people with

high EI have better mental wellbeing

because they know when and how to

express their feelings and moods.

Breathe deals with and teaches

students how to cope with their

feelings. Our student workshops

assist and help develop a sense of

acceptance and belonging that is so

important in developing EI. Some of

the areas where EI can be enforced are

featured in the Breathe workshops by

helping students:

MAKE NEW FRIENDS Healthy relationships with peers

are central to young people’s self-

esteem and provide an important

social outlet. Feedback from students

who have participated in Breathe

workshops shows that they appear

to have developed or understood the

importance of empathy and respect as

they had the opportunity to hear stories

‘Pointless. That’s how I see it.

If you want to be here, that’s fine,

breathe all you want.

But honestly, what is the point?

What is the point, if you don’t want to?

Can you?

Nope. Now you see why I find it

pointless.

Because it’s like an infection

Taking over your body against your will.’

These words were written by a

secondary school student from Kildare

in November 2013 when asked to

express the word ‘Breathe’. The

frustration, the sense of hopelessness -

these are emotions that have appeared

in a majority of young people’s lives

today. These emotions, among others,

are also connected with mental health

and wellbeing. And while much is being

done in regards to breaking down the

stigma of mental health illness, a

recent report from the World Health

Organisation (WHO) in January 2014

stated that 20 million people worldwide

attempt suicide annually and it predicts

that by 2020, approximately 1.5 million

people will have died from suicide.

Closer to home, a recent report by the

Irish Examiner titled ‘Health & Ireland’

found that Cork City has the highest

suicide rate in Ireland at 17.6% (the

national average is 11.5%).

While these figures are no doubt

extremely troubling, it is vital now to

find protective aspects and elements

in order to help prevent younger

generations from falling down this

treacherous path. Many young people

feel that life is not fair or that things

‘never go their way’. They feel stressed

Pause. Breathe. Be ProactiveBy Patrick Sutton, Director, The Gaiety School of Acting – The National Theatre School of Ireland



unified and supportive. The Breathe

Programme has so many outreaching

benefits to students, their teachers

and their families. The sense of

community strengthens, there is better

communication and knowledge that

making mistakes is a natural part of

learning and that stress and frustrations

can be dealt with in a positive way.

There are benefits for students and

benefits for teachers and parents/

guardians. There are increased links

between schools and their local

communities and an entire school centre

can, over time, become a more creative,

more spontaneous place where it is

more enjoyable and more satisfying to

work and study.

It is important to remember that the

Breathe programme does not stop once

our tutors leave the school grounds.

Through the skills and techniques

learnt, schools and families can

continue raising awareness around

mental health and removing the

attached stigmas. There are also

follow-on workshops available to those

that have already participated as we

recognise that these issues cannot

be solved in one day. Breathe has

the potential to make a very positive

contribution to the lives of young people

and we would love to see it reaching

schools in even more parts of the

country and eliminating that ‘infection

taking over your body against your will’.

Irish Public Bodies Insurance has kindly sponsored 77 schools to take part in Breathe from September to December 2014. So far, they have sponsored 53 schools to take part, with many continuing to sign up for follow-on workshops for the upcoming academic year. For schools that are interested in availing of the Irish Public Bodies Insurance sponsorship, early booking is advisable.

For more information on Breathe, please visit justbreathe.ie or email

[email protected]

students but as a whole staff unit.

One of the many benefits of these

workshops has been the team building

and bonding among staff. Some noted

that teaching can be quite isolating

so it was very welcoming to be able

to come together and do something

positive. One teacher even stated:

‘I have worked in this school for 12

years and this is the first time I’ve

taken part in a workshop like Breathe.

Fantastic work!’

This energetic response from both

students and school staff has

even resulted in two schools that

participated in the Breathe programme,

Maria Immaculata Community College,

Cork and Clonaslee College, Laois

being awarded with an Amber Flag. The

Amber Flag is an initiative by Suicide

Aware Ireland and recognises positive

mental health awareness in schools.

But the parents/guardians are just as

important in ensuring that the lessons

learnt are not left at the classroom

door. As found in the ’Teenage Mental

Health: What helps and What Hurts?’’

(June 2009) report, young people

recognise the importance in speaking to

their family in addition to their friends.

Parents/guardians that participated in

their own Breathe workshop found it

comforting to listen to other parents/

guardians talk about their experiences

and know that they’re not a bad person

or parent. They found it reassuring to

know that their child’s behaviour was

normal and it let them discover some

aspects of their child’s personality they

may not have seen before.

‘Very uplifting to hear other parents

speak openly and truthfully about

their relationships with their children.

Sometimes we think we are the only ones

going through hard times. This programme

has huge potential. Thank you.’

In order to create a strong awareness

of positive mental health, we must

ensure that the school community is

and importance of communication. The

previous areas mentioned were only

successful due to the increased levels

of communication within the groups.

‘I learned that you need to trust

others and talk to people about your

feelings. My favourite part was the

group games because we learned how

to work as a team.’

But sometimes, hard as you may try,

depression can just take over due to

factors that are out of our control.

Studies show that some depressed

people have too much or too little of

certain brain chemicals. A family history

of depression may increase the risk for

developing depression later in life and

difficult life events (such as death or

divorce), or side-effects of medication

can contribute to depression also.

This is why Breathe involves parents/

guardians and teachers as we are all

responsible for the emotional wellbeing

of each and every student. It is

important to involve teachers as much

as parents/guardians as teachers

may see a young person more during

the day than a parent/guardian. The

findings and recommendations provided

by ‘’Teenage Mental Health: What helps

and What Hurts?’’ (June 2009) found

that some of the key suggestions from

teenagers were:

School class per week on Mental

Health

Less homework and more time to

relax at weekends

During their Breathe Workshop,

teachers are provided with the tools

and a hand-out to help deliver and

address these ‘key helps’. They are

encouraged to integrate the acquired

knowledge from their Breathe workshop

into the classroom through subjects

like CSPE, Religion, History, English

etc. Many teachers found their

workshops informative and that they

reinforced the need to be aware of their

students’ emotional needs as well as

their intellectual. But these workshops

aim to not only help teachers with their



qualified for the Green power Formula

24 Final at the Goodwood race track on

12th October 2014.

Work is now underway on improvements

and any changes necessary to make

the car more competitive. The team are

hoping to secure more sponsorship;

interested parties can contact

[email protected] or

[email protected]

The project has been a huge success

and the TY Team would like to thank the

Engineering Department of NUIM and

in particular Andrew Meehan for their

time, energy and patience. They would

also like to thank their sponsors Intel,

KWETB, Leinster Driving, Earthridge,

NCS Motor Factors, Michel Noone

Motors and Siemens for making the

venture possible.

On Saturday 31st May teams and staff

from MPPS and NUIM headed to Nutts

Corner in Belfast to take part in the

Greenpower event. Having passed all the

safety and design checks 'The Wheel

Deal' lined up on the grid with five other

teams for the first of two 90-minute

races. The object of the race is to cover

as much ground as possible within the

90 minutes without a battery change.

'The Wheel Deal' got off to a flying start,

quickly moving into pole position, and

reliability proved to be the key, as they

had no unscheduled pit stops. At the end

of the first race 'The Wheel Deal' came

1st in its class and overall runner-up. The

second 90 minute race also went well

with the team being placed 2nd.

At the prize giving ceremony the team

were awarded the Siemens Award for

Innovation and Design. They have now

A team of Transition Year students

from Maynooth Post Primary

School (MPPS) under the guidance

of Mrs Mary Murphy TY Coordinator,

Mr Andrew Meehan, Lecturer with

the Engineering Department of NUl

Maynooth (NUIM) and Mr Padraig Golden

of Intel, became the first school in the

Republic of Ireland to compete in a

Greenpower Formula 24 event.

Preparations began in February when

the President of NUIM, Prof. Phillip

Nolan launched the event and work

began on building the electric powered

car in the Engineering Department of

NUIM. At the same time a PR team of

students began fundraising and raising

awareness of the project. The aim of the

project was not only to build and race

the car, but also to expose students to

the world of Engineering.

Dublin and Dún Laoghaire

ETB (DDLETB) Training

Centre Tallaght recently

celebrated the accomplishments

of three of its learners in their

Accounting Technicians Ireland

examinations. Tatsiana Fitzpatrick

achieved 1st Place in Ireland in

her First Year examinations. John

Guilfoyle received 3rd Place and Hilda

Huddleston 7th Place in Ireland in

their Second Year examinations.

Both courses were delivered through

contracted training provision in

Tallaght Training Centre and Oiliúna

Limited was the contractor which

delivered both the First Year and

Second Year courses.

Awards were presented to the

three successful learners by

Paddy Lavelle, CEO of DDLETB,

on Friday 2 August in the Training

Centre Tallaght in recognition of

their outstanding achievements.

Members of management and

contracted training staff in Training

Centre Tallaght were delighted to

join Paddy in celebrating the three

learners success, and to have

the opportunity to wish them

every success in their future

careers. Also in attendance were

Ken Healy, Academic Affairs

Manager of Accounting Technicians

Ireland, Keith ÓNualláin from

Oiliúna Limited and tutors Mairéad

Hickey, Stephanie Walshe and

Ciaran Armstrong.

Congratulations to Tatsiana, John

and Hilda!

Front row l-r: Hilda Huddleston, John Guilfoyle and Tatsiana FitzpatrickBack row l-r: (All from DDLETB Tallaght Training Centre unless stated):Fionnuala Anderson, Manager, Rosaleen O’Rourke, Assistant Manager, Paddy Lavelle, CE, DDLETB, Ellen McManus, Contracted Training Officer, Keith Ó’Nualláin, Manager, Oiliúna Limited and Anne Shanahan, Contracted Training Officer

The Wheel Deal! Formula 24 Success for MPPS and NUIM

DDLETB Training Centre Tallaght recognises the achievement of its Accounting Technicians Ireland learners



thank all the guest speakers who gave

their time to come and address our

students on all matters which impact

on mental health.

Over an hour later, I received a phone

call from the Cycle Against Suicide

Event Manager asking if the cyclists

could return to the AVS. Once he said

that it was a serious incident and it

involved one of our own team, our

response was immediate. The entire

group was invited to return to the

school as quickly and safely as they

could where they would be warmly

welcomed and well taken care of. As

news of the accident and the

subsequent return of the cyclists

spread, there was an overwhelming

sense of responsibility for these people

who had brought such joy and

excitement to us all little more than an

hour before. Most of the people

involved in the cycle were a long way

from their homes doing enormous good

for others. What followed over the

coming hours demonstrated the

magnificent spirit of good will and

generosity there is in our community.

The first of the cyclists returned 2.5

hours after they had left, after battling a

strong headwind and driving rain for the

duration of the return trip. The gym

where our students danced with Jim

Breen and his team a few hours earlier

had been transformed into an area

capable of accommodating over 400

cold, wet and emotional cyclists and

their bikes. Tea, coffee, sandwiches,

blankets and dry clothes were already

Abbey Vocational school students. Jim

left us all in no doubt as to his passion

spreading the message of suicide

prevention, and the slogan of: 'It’s ok

not to feel ok and it’s absolutely ok to

ask for help' reverberated around the

packed room. Bressie was simply

inspirational. From start to finish, the

students, teachers, cyclists, parents

and media who were present were

completely silent and totally engaged in

what he had to say. Never have I

witnessed such a large gathering be so

enthralled by an individual. I have no

doubt that many people in that hall, be

they teenagers or adults, were affected

by what they heard from both speakers

and will benefit from having been

present on that morning.

The convoy of coaches, trucks, cars

and cyclists departed our school before

11:00am to a fanfare which highlighted

the impression that they had left with

our community in such a short space of

time. There was an undeniable sense

that this visit had made our school and

our community a better place, and even

the inclement weather did little to

dampen the spirits of everyone present.

After the departure of the cyclists, our

students participated in our first ever

Positive Mental Health Day. I wish to

Months of planning and

preparation clicked into gear

at 7:30pm on a mild Tuesday

evening as a cavalcade of over 400

cyclists descended on the Abbey

Vocational School (AVS). They were

warmly welcomed by a huge crowd of

people who came out to show their

appreciation of the efforts being made

and to welcome these strangers to their

school, their town and into their homes.

The atmosphere was one of excitement,

joy, pride and positivity which will be

difficult to replicate. The cyclists stored

their bikes safely and made their way to

the main assembly area where music

was being provided by the 'Beefsteak

Dancers' and, although they had just

cycled over 100kms, some danced

energetically around the floor. Our

ever-efficient Parents’ Association had

refreshments ready and the Home-stay

Committee were busy matching cyclists

with their homes for the night. It was

obvious that lasting friendships were

about to be made, such was the

welcome and banter between the

cyclists and their hosts.

The following morning began with Jim

Breen, CEO of PulseLearning and

founder of Cycle Against Suicide, and

the musician Bressie addressing a

packed gym which included over 600

Cycle Against Suicide Cyclists find Support in the Homes of Donegal By Ronan Doherty, Principal (Acting) of Abbey Vocational School, Donegal Town

'Most of the people involved in the cycle were a long way from

their homes doing enormous good for others. What followed over

the coming hours demonstrated the magnificent spirit of good

will and generosity there is in our community.'



At 11:30 am, on Thursday 8th May, the

Cycle Against Suicide volunteers left

the AVS for the second time in little

over 24 hrs. This time, they left by

coach with their bikes following in an

articulated truck. Once again, the

students, staff and assembled parents

marked their departure- however this

time there were no cheers, no beeping

of horns, no waving-just a simple,

sustained and powerful round of

applause which left everyone in no

doubt that we indeed stood 'shoulder to

shoulder' with our departing guests. As

they slowly made their way through the

assembled guard of honour, our

Donegal flag flew at half-mast. On this

day our flag represented the people of

both Donegal and Kerry, united in

support of the O’Connell family and the

entire Cycle Against Suicide Community.

On Sunday evening, 11th May, a small

group of cyclists representing our

school and the local community

retraced the last earthly journey of

Brenawn O’Connell. This was

undertaken to coincide with the arrival

of the Cycle Against Suicide convoy to

their final destination at Islandbridge in

Dublin. A moment’s silence and prayer

were held and a wreath was laid at the

site of the accident.

To Jim and the Cycle Against Suicide

Organisation, I thank you for the

message and inspiration you brought to

us during your stay and I hope you can

find the strength to continue with your

great work. We were happy to be in a

position to assist you and we look

forward to welcoming you back at some

point in the future.

To the O’Connell family, on behalf of

the entire Abbey Vocational School

Community, I wish to express our

deepest sympathy with you on your

tragic loss. I hope that in the weeks

and months ahead, you will find peace

knowing that Brenawn’s memory will

live long in our community.

Suaimhneas síoraí tabhair dó, a Dhia.

Britton, Martin McFadden and Margaret

Whyte who had spent the day

addressing our students remained in

the gym for the evening and returned

the following day to help deal with the

emotional trauma that many of this

large group were going through. Rev

David Huss, Rev Stephen Henderson

and Fr Adrian Gavigan also spent the

evening and the following morning with

us, talking to and supporting the people

worst affected. Our guidance

counsellor, Ms Donna Patton ensured

that everyone who required support

was pointed in the right direction. Once

again we all owe a huge debt of

gratitude to each one of you.

Throughout the afternoon the Donegal

Town Cycle Against Suicide Home-stay

Committee were busy arranging

accommodation for the cyclists. The

goodwill and generosity of our

community came to the fore again with

Host families returning and seeking out

the people whom they had welcomed to

their homes the previous night. All the

local hotels and B&Bs offered

bedrooms for the night. A special word

of thanks must go to Paul Diver of the

Sandhouse Hotel and the Breslin family

of Pier 1 who, between them, provided

Dinner, Bed & Breakfast free of charge

to over 80 cyclists. By 7:00pm the gym

was empty, everyone involved had a

safe sanctuary for the night ahead

while the event directors took some

time to reflect on the tragic events of

the day and to decide on the next

course of action. The Home-stay

Committee had, for the second time in

24 hours, done a wonderful job catering

for the needs of all the cyclists. Well

done to all involved.

On Thursday morning, the cyclists and

crew returned to the AVS where after a

short and emotional speech, the Event

Manager announced: 'Tomorrow we will

cycle again!' This was met with a huge

round of applause and cheer from the

assembled crowd and any doubts that

may have lingered about the 'right thing

to do' were immediately extinguished.

available - much to the shock of the

returning cyclists - such was the swift

response of the local community. The

Abbey Hotel, Mill Park Hotel, Harvey’s

Point Hotel and Pier 1 provided

much-needed food in the form of

sandwiches, soup, hot food, flasks of

tea and coffee. Later in the evening,

another welcome delivery of food

arrived to the gym. This had made its

way from Strabane Academy in County

Tyrone which was meant to be the next

stop for the cyclists on their route

around Ireland. Donegal Community

Hospital provided blankets and offered

their Physiotherapy services if required.

Thank you to everyone involved in these

organisations for the invaluable support

you provided. A special thank you must

go to the staff and students of the Abbey Vocational School who did

everything required to ensure the swift

preparation of the school for the

returning cyclists.

On their return, most of the group did

not realise the extent of the tragedy

which had taken place some kilometres

ahead of them in the Gap. There was a

palpable sense of grief in the room

when Jim and his team summoned the

strength and courage required to break

the news that they had indeed lost one

of their own. The cold and wet feeling

was physical, the grief which overtook it

was much deeper for everyone present.

Even for those of us who had never

even met Brenawn, there was an

overwhelming emotion that this man

had given his life for the betterment of

us all and that we were hugely indebted

to him. Professional Counsellors N.C.

'The goodwill and generosity

of our community came to the

fore again with Host families

returning and seeking out

the people whom they had

welcomed to their homes the

previous night.'



In Croatia we are also discussing

implementing the Integrating literacy

programme developed in Ireland.

‘Integrating literacy’ into the design and

delivery of vocational courses means

that students are assisted in developing

literacy and vocational learning as part

and parcel of the same process.

Furthermore, we are working on a

quality system for adult education

institutions. For that reason I visited

Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI).

QQI is responsible for the external

quality assurance of further and higher

education and training (including

English language provision), validates

programmes and makes awards for

certain providers in these sectors.

This visit provided me with a great

opportunity to learn and to use that

knowledge in my everyday work. The

beauty of Ireland and the kindness of

Irish people will always stay with me.

ETBI gathers all stakeholders in its

Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Basic

Skills Forum. The overall aim of the

forum is to influence, inform, support

and promote the development of policy

and practice in relation to adult literacy,

numeracy and basic skills provision

within the Sector. That is an example

of good practice and something that

we will certainly consider establishing

in Croatia.

During my stay I also visited the National

Adult Literacy Agency (NALA). NALA

has really good cooperation with all

stakeholders in the area, especially with

local ETBs and most of their activities

are the product of that cooperation.

One of the things that got my particular

attention was the participation of

volunteer tutors. At this moment, there

are about 3,000 volunteers. I believe

that it´s easier for adult students to

relate to a person who is just like them,

than it is to a teacher.

I recently spent three weeks with

ETBI in order to gain a better

understanding of the Irish

educational system. I must give

special thanks to Pat O’Mahony,

Niamh Ginnell and Michael Moriarty

who hosted me so generously and

provided me with a lot of information

about the processes and the system.

The education system in Ireland has

some differences compared with the

system in Croatia. The qualification

framework in Ireland is the first thing

which got my attention, because the

national framework of Qualifications

has 10 levels, while in Croatia the

Qualification Framework has only

8 levels. Just to compare the early

childhood year only, shows that in

Ireland children at the age of 4 can

be enrolled at primary school while in

Croatia they have to be at the age of

7, but that is about to change.

In Croatia we put a lot of effort

into improving adult literacy, so my

main intention was to learn about

adult literacy in Ireland. Data from

Census 2011 shows that 87,795

(3.05 %) of citizens in Croatia

between the ages of 15 to 64 do

not have a basic education.

'Just to compare the

early childhood year only,

shows that in Ireland children

at the age of 4 can be enrolled

at primary school while in

Croatia they have to be at

the age of 7, but that is

about to change.'

My study visit to ETBIBy Nives Pokrajcic, Croatian Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Educationˇ ´

Nives Pokrajcic pictured with ETBI Education and Research Officer, Pat O'Mahony during her Study Visit.

ˇ ´



The Ireland Funds for their philanthropic

donation which has seed-funded this

remarkable initiative, and to also thank

the Local Music Education Partnerships

who have provided, and will continue

to provide, 50% funding to ensure its

success into the future.'

Commenting on this next stage of Music

Generation’s development, The Edge

said; 'I believe it's a documented fact

that exposure to music makes a better

society. We're still practicing but we were

lucky enough to attend a school with a

great music programme and that is why

Music Generation is so important to us.

We are very proud of its success and the

fact that it will continue into the future.'

Kieran McLoughlin, President and CEO

of The Worldwide Ireland Funds said:

'The Ireland Funds are very proud

that the seed capital we committed

to in 2009 has helped establish a

programme that will become part of

the very fabric of music education in

Ireland. Music Generation has evolved

into a programme that has changed the

landscape of music education in Ireland

and we applaud the Irish Government’s

long-term funding commitment to this

programme while we will continue to

support this project

through until the end

of 2015.'

Rosaleen Molloy, the

National Director of

Music Generation,

welcomed the start

of the phasing in

of the Department

of Education and

Skills’ funding for

the initiative: 'I am

delighted the DES

has commenced its

co-funding of Music

Music Generation, the music

education programme initiated

by Music Network following a

�7m philanthropic donation by U2 and

The Ireland Funds, is set to become a

long-term and lasting part of the national

music education landscape from July

2014 when the Department of Education

and Skills (DES) commences phased

co-funding of the programme with Local

Music Education Partnerships.

Music Generation provides young people

with access to high-quality subsidised

vocal and instrumental tuition in their

local area. Since its foundation in 2009

the programme has established Music

Education Partnerships in 12 counties,

creating access for up to 18,500

children and young people and providing

employment for some 220 musicians.

In January 2013, the Department of

Education and Skills announced it would

begin the phasing in of its co-funding

from July 2014 with Local Music

Education Partnerships with a view to

these partners completely replacing the

original philanthropic donation by 2016.

The €7m donation from U2 (€5m) and

The Ireland Funds’ €2m made in 2009

was the largest ever single philanthropic

donation to music education in Ireland in

the history of the State.

Speaking about the Department

of Education’s funding role for the

Music Generation programme, newly

appointed Minister for Education and

Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, said: 'Music

Generation truly is an innovative and

pioneering partnership model, located

in 12 counties, which has significantly

progressed the development of

infrastructure for increased access

to performance music education

for children and young people. My

Department would like to thank U2 and

Music Generation set to become long-term and lasting

Generation, along with the Local Music

Education Partnerships. The phasing

in of Department funding ensures that

Music Generation continues into the

future. It will be business as usual for

the Music Generation team across

the country, as we will continue to

work closely with the Local Music

Education Partnerships on programme

development and delivery, safe in the

knowledge that our funding is secure.'

Music Generation was established by

Music Network, Ireland’s national music

touring and development agency, on

receipt of the €7m donation. CEO of

Music Network Sharon Rollston said

'This transition is a step closer to Music

Network’s vision of a national system

of local music education services, as

outlined in our 2003 report, and is

greatly welcomed’.

Music Generation works in partnership

with the following ETBs:

Cork

Dublin and Dun Laoghaire

Kildare and Wicklow

Kilkenny and Carlow

Laois and Offaly

Limerick and Clare

Louth and Meath

Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim

The Edge talks with Little Tents, a young band from the Music Generation Limerick City programme, discussing inspirational ideas about music and song-writing. From left to right: Cian McGurk, Aisling O'Connor, Conor Wallace, Gill Macnamara, The Edge, Laura Duff and Aoife Donnellan.



technology and purposeful creativity

form the basis for trailblazing learning

processes. With a view to supporting

the CPD Department the College

has set up a separate Unit, known

as the School for the Future where it

operates as a very innovative Research

& Development Centre for Teaching

and Learning, e-Learning and Creative

Thinking.

Lithuania: Kaunas University of

Technology – the largest technical

university in the Baltic States with a

strong reputation in the use of ICT to

facilitate the delivery of education.

PROJECT METHODOLOGYThe project focused, in the first

instance, on the identification of CPD

innovation relevant to the aims and

objectives of the project. This phase

of the project had two dimensions.

One of these involved bilateral visits

and meetings between CDETB and

the other ePathways project partner

countries. The rationale for these visits

was to provide the opportunity for a

more in-depth sharing of knowledge and

experience between the Partners and

PROJECT PARTNERSIreland: Fast Track to Information

Technology (FIT), City of Dublin

Education and Training Board (CDETB),

H2 Learning – a professional services

organisation, providing a range

of services in the area of ICT and

education. Education and Training

Boards Ireland (ETBI), and the

Association of Teachers’ Education

Centres Ireland (ATECI).

United Kingdom: City College Norwich

– a College of Further and Higher

Education that leads on e-learning in a

variety of domains.

Norfolk Educational Services (NES) - a

company that works directly with City

College Norwich supplying services

such as Teacher Development,

Continuing Professional Development,

IT Services and New Media Services.

NES specialises in providing innovative,

cost-effective and sustainable services

to the education sector.

The Netherlands: Koning Willem I

College – a vocational training and

education college, where high-quality

ePathways is a two-year

(November 2012 to October

2014) transfer of innovation

project funded under the Lifelong

Learning Programme of the EU. The

overall aim of the project is to facilitate

the transfer of Continuous Professional

Development (CPD) innovation to City

of Dublin Education and Training Board

(CDETB) and the wider Vocational

Education and Training (VET) sector in

Ireland and Europe.

The ePathways project is fourth in a

line of Transfer of Innovation projects,

funded by the European Commission

and Leargas, the National Agency, all

of which have had a major focus on

CPD and the role that ICT can play in

supporting teaching and learning.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES Identify good practice in the delivery

of CPD and the use of e-Portfolios

by Education Providers and teachers

across the EU and transfer this good

practice to the VET sector in Ireland.

Develop a CPD Policy for CDETB

and a CPD Model for VET schools

that will guide VET organisations in

implementing innovative and ICT-based

CPD strategies for VET teachers.

Develop CPD materials for VET

teachers based on the knowledge

and experience of the project

partners.

Select and develop a professional

CPD e-Portfolio application for VET

teachers in CDETB Colleges.

Test the CPD materials and

e-Portfolio application with VET

teachers in Ireland.

Foster the use of innovative learning

approaches in the delivery of CPD

programmes for VET teachers

Disseminate what is learned in the

course of the project in both Ireland

and Europe.

ePathways?What is



experiences, professional

development activities, institutional

memberships, etc. The second

and more innovative element

goes beyond the extant face-to-

face model of CPD and seeks to

facilitate ongoing relationships

with and between teachers in the

context of online professional

networks or communities of practice

through which teachers can work

collaboratively and learn from

one another, discuss new ideas

and professional practices, share

experiences and resources, develop

resources, access resources and

so on. Using the ePortfolio facility

to develop professional networks

is central to the functionality of the

ePortfolio application.

DISSEMINATION OF WHAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED THROUGH THE EPATHWAYS PROJECTIn due course full details of what has

been learned over the course of the

project will be available on the project

website: www.epathways.eu.

Furthermore, on 2 October 2014 a

conference will be held in Drumcondra

Education Centre (1.00pm to 5.00pm)

to share the project outcomes. This will

offer attendees the opportunity to see

and experience the CPD products and

their benefits for themselves. After a

complimentary light lunch, there will be

a brief overview of the project followed

by a number of CPD workshops

for teachers, tutors, trainers, and

management – principals and deputy

principals. These workshops will be

facilitated by expert trainers from

Koning Willem I (Netherlands), City

College Norwich (England), Kaunas

Technology University (Lithuania) and

H2 (Dublin).

a framework that supports and

encourages the professional

development of staff within CDETB

in line with CDETB’s Education and

Training Plan. The framework’s

development was informed by

research on CPD policy and

innovation in Europe, consultation

and piloting with CDETB staff as

well as other educational partners

and specialists outside of CDETB.

Its development entailed a series

of cycles of reflection and revision.

The policy document includes an

outline of the development stages

of the policy, thus providing a

model to guide other providers in

the development of a CPD policy.

The policy document is not a skills-

based, hierarchical document

that ignores the issue of teacher

responsibility to participate in CPD,

as such documents tend to be, but

rather a contemporary document

that reflects a commitment to VET

providers being lifelong learning

communities.

A series of 17 booklets to stimulate

teacher interest around a selection

of key themes (internship for

teachers and tutors, flipping the

classroom, ideas for using ICT in the

classroom, assessment for learning,

sharing ideas and best practice,

managing student behaviours, etc.)

relevant to building teacher/tutor

capacity and improving learning

outcomes for students. Each

booklet, in a minimum of words and

in plain English, provides what might

be termed a ‘ladybird’ introduction

to the particular theme. They have

a variety of uses, from providing an

introductory stimulus in advance of

a CPD activity to providing a vehicle

for teachers to refresh their learning

some time after the CPD event

has occurred.

A CPD e-portfolio application comprising two distinct elements.

The first element provides a facility

for teachers to document their

career progression - resumes,

qualifications, professional

to give CDETB the opportunity to see

CPD in action and to engage with the

organisers and facilitators of CPD.

Through these visits CDETB personnel

experienced different approaches to

the design and implementation of CPD

and a significant amount of what was

learned has already been implemented

to good effect in CDETB, and planning

for the future will see the legacy of the

project extending well beyond its life. In

addition, important partnerships have

been established to ensure relationship

building and networking amongst the

partners into the future.

The other approach to identifying good

practice involved the development of a

survey tool to assist in the compilation

of case studies on CPD innovation

across Europe. The carrying out of this

survey was facilitated by the project

partners contacting providers they

were acquainted with and requesting

them to complete the survey. The

project outcomes were also informed

by a review of relevant literature from

the European Commission, the OECD,

The Teaching Council of Ireland, the

Department of Education and Skills,

and Quality and Qualifications Ireland.

As well as focusing on CPD, the review

also addressed other areas linked to

teacher education such as: quality

assurance, self-evaluation, and school

and programme improvement.

PROJECT OUTCOMESThe project delivered the following

outcomes:

A CPD policy for CDETB to provide

Drumcondra Education Centre 2 October

1pm to 5pm

To register go to www.epathwayslaunchconference.

eventbrite.ie

ePathways Conference


Tipperary

Kerry

Cork

Kildare andWicklow

Co Dublin andDun Laoghaire

Donegal

City of Dublin

Kilkenny andCarlow

Waterford and Wexford

Limerick and Clare

Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim

Galway and Roscommon

Longford andWestmeath

Cavan andMonaghan

Louth and Meath

Laois andOffaly

Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI)Piper’s HillKilcullen RoadNaasCo KildareIreland

Phone: +353 (0)45 901 070

Fax: +353 (0)45 901 711

Email: [email protected]

www.etbi.ie

Education and Training Boards (ETBs) in Ireland

ETBI Cover Autumn.indd 2 11/09/2014 11:48