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Almost 16,000 training and education places, as well as €40 million in funding for building works for schools have been announced by Minister for Education and Skills, Mr. Ruairi Quinn T.D., today (10 May, 2011) as part of the Government’s Jobs Initiative.

Speaking today Minister Quinn said, “The Programme for Government pledged to deliver an additional 15,000 places in training, work experience and educational opportunities within our first 100 days in office.  I am very pleased that the measures contained in today’s Jobs Initiative will exceed this commitment and provide those seeking employment with an additional 20,900 places, with the majority coming from my own department.”

The Department of Education and Skills will provide 15,900 education and training places across a spectrum of programmes:

• 6,000 places in the FÁS Specific Skills Training programme
• 5,900 places in the Higher Education Springboard programme
• 3,000 places in the Back to Education Initiative programme
• 1,000 places in Post Leaving Cert Courses.

These places are being funded through the redeployment of some financial resources within the Department and an additional €8.3 million from the Exchequer. 

Welcoming the announcement, Minister of State with Responsibility for Skills and Training, Ciarán Cannon T.D., said “These additional training and education places will enable more unemployed people to up-skill and re-skill so they can effectively compete for jobs in the labour market.”

On the capital side, Minister Quinn announced that €40 million will be made available through the Jobs Initiative to fund 374 primary and post primary school building projects.   

These funds will allow schools to carry out small and medium scale building works such as special needs access, toilet facilities, roof works and window replacements. 

Minister Quinn said “This funding will provide major improvements to shovel ready projects in 374 schools nationwide, which I know they will welcome.  Not only that, the investment will also create 2,400 direct and 480 indirect much needed jobs in the construction sector.”

€30 million of the funding will be spent this year.  €20 million of this will be reallocated from within the Department’s 2011 budget allocation and an additional €10 million will be made available from the Exchequer.

“I am confident that school authorities will be able to achieve best value for money on prices for jobs, given the competitive construction market.  The projects should also cause minimum disruption to schooling as the majority will be carried out over the summer months,” said Minister Quinn.    

The Planning and Building Unit in the Department will be in contact shortly with all the schools approved for funding under this initiative with further details and instructions on how to proceed.  The full list of schools to benefit from today’s announcement can be found at:

In relation to Public Private Partnerships, the Minister has now agreed with his colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform, that the Department of Education & Skills will identify and deliver two further schools PPP bundles in areas where additional infrastructure is required post 2016.  Work on the identification of these bundles will commence immediately.

The Minister said that “This development will support the continued diversification of the delivery of school building projects involving delivery in the traditional manner and now, on an increased basis, the VECs.”

ENDS

Contact         Deirdre Grant    086 0484 279 or 01 889 2417 or

                Sarah Moroney 087 7720570 or 01 889 2162

The 15,900 training and education places announced today bring the total training places for the unemployed this year to 114,500.  It will also bring places which the unemployed may access in the Further Education sector to 172,000 and in the Higher Education sector to 161,900.

On the capital side, the additional funding will bring the amount that will be invested this year under the School Modernisation Programme to over €410m.   The list of the 374 schools to be funded is available on the Department’s website

A total of 230 primary schools at a cost of €19 million and 144 post primary schools at €21 million are to be funded

Further details on the additional training and education places are contained below:

There will be an additional 6,000 places in the FÁS Specific Skills Training programme.  5,000 of the places will be in short, evening and blended Specific Skills training courses delivered by FÁS within existing resources.  €3.5 million will be provided for 1,000 places in longer FAS Specific Skills Training courses.

Courses available under Specific Skills Training include engineering, information technology, office and administration, sales, marketing, management, construction, electronics and clothing.  Courses will begin to be rolled out this summer. 

Specific Skills Training allows job seekers the opportunity to acquire specific job related skills and formal vocational qualifications to facilitate re-entry to the workforce. The courses lead to FETAC Major Awards at levels 4, 5 and 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications and/or industry recognised certification.

There will be an additional 3,000 places in the VEC-provided further education Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) provided from within the existing 2011 Department of Education and Skills financial allocation.  These courses will begin this summer.  This will bring total funded places in 2011 to 12,000.

The BTEI provides flexible part time further education courses mainly to those adults with less than upper second level education, including the unemployed. 

Commencing in September 2011, there will be an additional 1,000 places in Post Leaving Cert Courses at an additional cost of €2.0 million in 2011.  This will bring total funded places in 2011 to 32,688.

PLC courses are for school leavers who have completed the Leaving Certificate as well as adults learners returning to education.

An additional €2.8 million is being provided in 2011 to the Higher Education Springboard Programme announced in December 2010.  This will provide a total of 5,900 places for the unemployed in part-time higher education courses from certificate to post graduate levels (Levels 6 to 9 on NFQ).

The fund has been designed to help those with a previous history of employment in construction, manufacturing or other sectors of the economy where employment levels are unlikely to recover to pre-recession levels.

Programmes will be available at all higher education levels from certificate to masters degree level (levels 6-9 on NQF) enabling unemployed people with differing levels of qualifications to participate.

Further details on the range of courses available and how to apply will be revealed at a formal launch of Springboard on the 25

of May, when applications will open.  The courses themselves will begin in the autumn.