Minister Martin Announces New €55m Training Fund
New Five Year Mandate for Internationally Acclaimed Skillnets Programme
Thousands of Companies and Employees Nationwide to Benefit
March 8th 2005
Minister
for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD today (8th March,
2005) announced a new mandate for the enterprise-led training body Skillnets,
which makes available a new fund of €55 million for industry training over
the next five years. The fund will ensure that thousands of Irish companies and
employees will have access to vital training to upgrade the skill sets necessary
to stay abreast with the rapidly changing global economy.
Skillnets is
a unique programme, with a growing international reputation, that has provided
substantial benefits to employees, businesses and the economy in general. Máire
Hunt, Chief Executive of Skillnets said: "We allow companies to decide themselves
what they most need. Skillnets provides access to flexible funding and support
to allow enterprises to acquire the skills and training most relevant to their
business."
Training Networks enable groups of companies to come together to decide what specific training they need to enhance their performance. Skillnets then provides the guidance, expertise and up to 75% of the funding to allow the groups to manage their own training programmes instead of buying off-the-shelf products which may not address their specific needs. This ensures that companies get programmes that are 100% relevant to their business and that can be undertaken at times and locations that are convenient for them.
In announcing the new mandate, Minister Martin said: "Skillnets has been especially successful since their establishment in 1999 in using networks as a catalyst for enterprise-led training. The flexible Skillnets approach has already allowed over 5000 companies to acquire key skills for future competitiveness."
The Minister stated that lifelong learning is at the heart of his Department's enterprise policy over the coming years. "We must continually up-skill and meet the challenge of change head on," he said.
Skillnets has been a new departure for social partners and government where employer bodies such as IBEC, CCI and CIF, working with trade unions, have taken the lead in developing this radical new approach to workplace skills. "By adopting a dual focus on both businesses and employees, Skillnets enhances both productivity and employability, and in so doing enriches the whole economy," said Minister Martin.
The unique feature of
Skillnets is in its development of Training Networks where groups of companies
work together at sector or regional level to create new learning solutions for
their management and staff. Domhnall Mac Domhnaill, Chairman of Skillnets confirmed
that this is very much in line with the Enterprise Strategy Group Report: "By
joining training networks, firms can work together rather than in isolation, they
have increased buying power, they can commission programmes specific to their
sector and their needs and they have a greater range of industry-relevant training
available. This means that enterprise training now has a direct impact on the
company performance and ultimately on their bottom line."
Skillnets was formed by industry stakeholders in 1999 and is funded through the National Training Fund, from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It is now the leading national initiative supporting the upgrading of skills for people in employment in companies throughout the country. Already 90 training networks have been supported in sectors from pharmaceuticals and microelectronics to hotels and retailers. Across the networks, 30,000 people have acquired new skills, competencies and qualifications in the workplace- without having to take time off to return to education.
In launching the new mandate, Skillnets is calling for proposals from enterprises under the new fund. Skillnets is now open to applications from groups of firms and is holding a series of regional briefings for businesses.
Máire
Hunt CEO of Skillnets said: "We will work with groups of companies of any
size, sector or region to develop ideas and make an application to Skillnets.
Seed funding is also available to allow companies to engage consultants to help
them develop proposals."
