EL TIGRE MALO DE AMALF

One-Step-Up, as originally envisaged by the Enterprise Strategy Group, was a proposal to upskill as many of the population as possible, both to drive the development of a knowledge economy and to prepare workers to live and prosper in such an economy. Part of the objective of this study is to set out appropriate strategic objectives for the implementation of the One-Step-Up initiative and to indicate its potential components. The OECD report Promoting Adult Learning 2005 highlighted the role that Governments can play in promoting adult learning by creating the structural preconditions to maximise the returns from investment in adult learning; promoting well-designed co-financing arrangements; improving delivery and quality control; and working to improve policy coordination and coherence. Lack of motivation, lack of time, and financial constraints remain the key barriers to adult learning. The Expert Group believes that there are a number of interlinked elements required to operationalise fully the One-Step-Up approach.

i) Identify Individuals’ and Businesses’ Skills Needs – Career Guidance and Mentoring for Those in Work

The level of demand for training and education is not commensurate with the perceived need for it. One of the reasons is that individuals and businesses are not aware of their skills shortcomings. In order to engage with individuals and firms and meet their needs, individuals and enterprise need to be able to assess their strengths and weaknesses from a skills perspective. The Expert Group have previously recommended strong career guidance and mentoring for those in the workplace and better skills assessment tools to be available to individuals on-line12_{. Enterprise agencies (FÁS and Enterprise Ireland), representative organisations and}

Skillnets should continue to assist companies in identifying the training needs of their employees.

Brokerage systems to help companies identify their needs and source training are being used elsewhere. The opportunities presented by such systems should be further investigated. Ways of capturing this data and feeding it back to education and training providers should be designed to identify required training specifically tailored to either the individual or company. This would give individuals or companies ownership of their own training programmes. The development and rollout of such a system should be linked to a central careers website.

ii) Greater Awareness of the Benefits of Education and Training

Employers and employees alike need to be made aware of the benefits of continued education and training, as well as the opportunities available to them. This could be achieved through a high profile National Media Awareness Campaign1_{. Such a campaign should highlight the value of education and}

training to both employers and employees: increased productivity for the firm, higher wages and increased future employability for the employee. It should also direct individuals to the planned central careers website (see (i) above). This campaign should be reinforced through a partnership approach and underpinned by the dissemination work undertaken by the NCPP as part of the National Workplace Strategy. Employer and employee representative groups should engage at the level of the firm to demonstrate to their members the value of upskilling. The NCPP, FÁS, Skillnets and other providers should work together to develop case studies and share learning.

iii) Flexible and Responsive Provision

The provision of education and training courses should reflect the needs of individuals and enterprise. This would foster improved linkages between the education system and enterprise, as previously recommended by the Enterprise Strategy Group. The accelerating pace of change at all levels within the economy, and particularly in relation to skills, necessitates flexible and responsive provision. There must, therefore, be genuine dialogue between those providing education and training and those demanding it. The provision of workplace based training which is fitted around working hours needs to be actively promoted.

The tertiary education system in particular has an opportunity to exploit the expanding market for further learning. Capacity in third level has increased over recent years. In the medium term up to 2012 the size of the school leaving cohort – the traditional third level client base – will level off or decline marginally. However, this is likely to be offset through increased progression to third level and through the effects of migration on demographics. Third level institutions which want to grow can do so by reorienting their offerings towards those in the workforce in need of upskilling. A One-Step-Up approach needs to involve a wide range of providers including universities, institutes of technology, vocational education committees, Skillnets, FÁS, development agencies, and other relevant education and training bodies.

iv) Accreditation/Quality Assurance

All of the education and training undertaken as part of a One-Step-Up initiative should be accredited and quality-assured within the context of the National Framework of Qualifications. As well as ensuring that an element of quality control is maintained, accreditation facilitates progression and also ensures that upskilling is captured in a meaningful way which will allows individuals, employers and the State to maximise the returns from their investment.

A strong accreditation system should be fundamental to any National Skills Strategy. Ireland has been amongst the leaders within Europe in relation to the development of a National Framework of Qualifications. The NQAI, awarding bodies, and providers of education and training now need to ensure that the utilisation of the framework is maximised and that its functions and value are widely communicated.

Recognition of prior learning is an allied issue which needs to be further progressed in order to make

One-Step-Up a reality.

v) Funding for ‘One-Step-Up’

Funding is required to operationalise a One-Step-Up approach. The Expert Group has not made detailed calculations in relation to the costing of individual elements of such an initiative as part of this research. Broad estimates place the cost of the proposed additional upskilling to levels , and 5 at €15 million per annum over the period 2008 to 2020. The cost of upskilling at the higher levels 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 is estimated at €0 million per annum over the period 2008 to 2020. It is suggested later in Section 5.6.2, that costs at the higher level should be met through a tripartite arrangement between the State, employers and individuals. Some of the cost at the higher level may be netted off against recent investments at that level which have not yet taken effect in terms of increased output. These figures are estimated based on OECD statistics on average expenditure per student at various levels of education, and do not include income support, additional wage compensation or any form of subsidy to employers1_.