Transcript Employment Opportunities in the South East

Facilitating Employment
Opportunities in the South East
Shane Rooney
County Carlow VEC
Adult Educational Guidance Co-Ordinator
Contents
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About AEGIS
Who AEGIS serves
Challenges for the South- East
Client Challenges
Policy Challenges
Policy Challenges
Personal Observations
Jobridge- The Benefits
Solutions – Work Place relevant skills
Solutions –Policy Perspective
Solutions- Provision of Workplace relevant skills
Conclusions
Co. Carlow VEC
Adult Educational Guidance and
Information Service ( AEGIS)
 To offer a guidance service to adults which includes impartial
adult education information, one-to-one guidance and group
guidance, which will help people to make informed educational,
career and life choices.
 Dept. Education and Skills 2012- Operational Guidelines
 South-East AEGIS centres include Kilkenny city, Castlecomer,
Callan, Wexford town, Waterford City, Dungarvan as well as in
regular outreach locations around each County.
Carlow Service Annual Statistics
 Clients met for 1:1 appointments: 512
 Clients met in groups: 643
 General public enquiries: 921
 Total: 2076
Who is AEGIS for?
 Adults and young people aged over 16 who left school with low or no formal
qualifications or low literacy levels
 The unemployed, particularly the priority groups identified as part of the
Government’s activation agenda.
 The long-term unemployed and those at risk of becoming long-term
unemployed, especially those in the older age groups
 Those not in work but not eligible to be on the Live Register
 Those in the workplace with basic skills needs
 Young people aged over 16 years of age are eligible to participate in BTEI and
Adult Literacy programmes. Community Education programmes are open to
those over 18 years of age and VTOS for unemployed people over 21 years of age.
Where a young person aged between 16-18 years of age presents, AEGS staff
should deal with them appropriately and in line with VEC child protection
guidelines.
Dept. Education and Skills 2012- Operational Guidelines
Challenges for the South- East
 In the South East region there is a higher concentration of those with low levels of
educational attainment within both the labour force and the unemployed compared
to the national average.
 The fall-off in opportunities in construction and traditional manufacturing has a
particularly hard impact on certain occupational groups, in crafts and production
operatives.
 There is a need for a strong focus in activation measures on providing career advice
and ‘progression pathways’ for the unemployed and on up skilling with accredited
qualifications.
FORFAS South East Region Employment action plan- Spotlight on the South East December 2011
Client /Jobseeker-Common
Challenges
 Re-introduction into employment is a slow and steady
process having been unemployed for years.
 Short course provision initially to build confidence and refamiliarise oneself with routine and challenge.
 Process of certification can be quite long term where as
clients may need employment straight away
 Need to lay out short, medium and long term goals.
 Affirmation of academic success is huge be it at FETAC level
3, 4, 5.
 Constant refrain that I have got hands on experience but I
haven’t got the qualifications/ Paperwork to prove it.
Policy Challenges
 Just because you have not tried something doesn’t mean you are not good at it---- Self
awareness of own skills V. Training and job opportunities
 Huge gap in filtering down labour market needs to the general public
 Need for clients aged 40 and 50 to be given some confidence boosters such as
exemption from doing some modules by way of recognition of prior learning ( RPL) as
affirmation of experience gained
 Early school leaving results in need for basic skills acquisition as well as learning how
to learn
 The gap created between unemployment and some high tech positions is perceived as
being far greater than it actually is – once clients with the right aptitude try
something…they can then run with it.
 Not lack of ability but lack of affirmation of and self-belief in adult’s own skills
 Support and encouragement from AEGIS needed at start but subsides as
independence and self-belief grows.
Making it in Ireland: Manufacturing 2020 ( Forfas)…My Experience..
Personal Observations
 Clients have gained many “On the job skills “and informal/
non-formal training but have “No paperwork” ie formal
qualifications
 Clients may also have incomplete apprenticeships or have
not finished out college courses - Need for widespread RPL
System (Recognition of Prior Learning)
 Programmes need to confidence build and reintegrate
these capable workers back into the work force.
 Ability is not the issue but learning how to learn and
building academic confidence Eg. WIT access programme
 Huge need from clients for flexibility of provision ie free ,
third level part-time/ Evening provision for unemployed
and underemployed job-seekers
Jobbridge – The Benefits
 An issue for the scheme concerns whether this group
represents individuals who are most at risk of extended
unemployment.
 It also, however, raises an issue as to whether JobBridge
should give greater focus to assisting those that have
experienced long-term unemployment.
 Other impacts highlighted by participants included that the
scheme helped to boost their self-confidence and to
identify job opportunities suitable to their abilities, kept
participants close to the job market, and helped
participants to establish contacts/networks
 JobBridge ( September 2012) Indecon's Interim Evaluation
Solution-Provision of work-place
relevant skills
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Huge need for far greater co-operation between private Industry and Education providers wrt to meaningful
work experience opportunities
In the semi-skilled apprenticeship area- non-replacement of construction related trades have left a huge gap (
Forfas- Spotlight on South- East.
Top-down approach ie: Government encouraging increased co-operation between employers and
education/training bodies
Bottom up approach ---need for course provision to match employer needs
Forfas Recommendations -Making it in Ireland: Manufacturing 2020
2/3 of dual system of trade education in Germany is financed by private sector – Far greater public private cooperation .
Report highlights German model of establishing career paths (dual system, Meister pathway, strong
apprenticeship-HE links);
Over reliance on generic/ transferrable skills while important there are very few secretarial / business studies
related vacancies to justify amount of provision.
Specialist industry related up-skilling is not widely available due to lack of resources/finances Eg. Plastic Injection
moulding positions remain unfilled.
Policy Solutions
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Attracting employees affected by lack of knowledge of career opportunities & negative perceptions
of manufacturing – Recommendations from
Recommendation 1 - Establishing Career Paths
•Lack of clarity re: career paths linked to education & training v other countries
–Germany (dual system, Meister pathway, strong apprenticeship-HE links);
–US Manufacturing Institute (stackable credentials)
•Career Path Key Features
–Main occupations mapped to the NFQ
–Learning pathways meet occupation standards & provide progression routes
–Pathways that match in-company & formal education learning pathways & provide opportunities
for cross linkages or joint provision
–Industry-based track to HE qualifications e.g. Meister or Time-served Engineer
•Multiple partners required but also industry leadership
Making it in Ireland: Manufacturing 2020 ( Forfas)
Conclusions
 There needs to be greater interaction between enterprise bodies, agencies and
education and training providers in addressing skills demands in a systematic and coordinated way.
Hugh proportion of youth unemployment ( Momentum only going some way to addressing this need
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Education and training provision needs to have greater alignment with enterprise skills needs
both current and future.
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This is hugely obvious to me in my daily work Carlow VEC have moved towards this by adding fetac
5 courses more appropriate to labour market needs such as extra Food Science and Information
Technology related provision in Further Education Colleges
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It’s vital in my opinion that adult clients are exposed to a variety of Industry sectors areas- huge
push on STEM promotion for under 18 but should be promoted just as much to adult
learners……put simply ..just because you haven't tried something doesn’t mean you are not good
at it.
Carlow VEC FETAC 5 provision in Adult and Further Education area is involved in successfully meeting
the needs of the personal services arena such as healthcare support, childcare as well as health related
therapies such as reiki and Indian head massage
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