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Minister Harris invites expressions of interest to fill two vacancies on the SOLAS Board
Minister Harris invites expressions of interest to fill two vacancies on the SOLAS Board
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, is inviting suitably qualified and experienced persons to fill two vacancies on the board of An tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Scileanna (SOLAS).
SOLAS was established in 2013 and is the further education and training authority. It is responsible for the strategic co-ordination and funding of the Further Education and Training (FET) sector.
Speaking today, Minister Harris said:
“SOLAS plays a significant role in the further education and training sector.
“One of their functions is to help guide how the FET sector is planned, funded, supported and delivered on the ground.
“This includes providing pathways for diverse groups of learners, preparing people for successful careers and a lifetime of learning and development.
“SOLAS is one of the Department’s key agencies with a fundamental role in progressing the unified tertiary policy, working as a sectoral leader to promote the unified tertiary policy, leading out on and/or collaborating on actions, which support its progression, and serving as a key facilitator for collaboration with and across the tertiary system.”
Candidates should have extensive experience in one or more of the following areas: senior management experience; understanding of workplace relations; representing the needs and interests of learners.
The Minister will have regard to the desirability for gender balance, diversity and inclusion on the Board when making the appointments.
Candidates who have been brought forward in this process may form a panel from which future vacancies arising in the next 12 months may be filled.
The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is managing the process of filling the two vacancies on the SOLAS Board. Applications may only be made through PAS. A detailed information booklet can be found here.
Expressions of interest can be made using the application form.
The closing date for submissions is 3pm on Tuesday, 9 January 2024.
An tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Scileanna (SOLAS), the Further Education and Training Authority, was established in October 2013 under the Further Education and Training Act, 2013. SOLAS, under the aegis of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. SOLAS is responsible for the strategic co-ordination and funding of the Further Education and Training (FET) sector.
The legislation sets out the overall structure of SOLAS and provides for its functions in the areas of:
- the development and implementation of a national strategy for the delivery of further education and training;
- consultation with key stakeholders in relation to the provision of further education and training;
- coordination with the National Employment and Entitlement Service – Intreo in the delivery of further education and training programmes to those seeking employment;
- advancing monies to the Education and Training Boards and other training bodies;
- assessing whether bodies engaged in the provision of further education and training programmes perform their functions in an economic, efficient, and effective manner;
- developing and facilitating the development of new and existing further education and training programmes;
- conducting research relating to the functions of SOLAS.
Funding for Further Education and Training is provided by the Department for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science from the Exchequer (central funds) and the National Training Fund. SOLAS is the main recipient of FET funding and allocates the bulk of this funding to the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) to deliver FET services at local level.