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The Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton, TD, and the Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, TD, announced today that expressions of interest are being sought from suitably qualified and experienced persons to fill vacancies on the Board of Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI).

The forthcoming vacancies include the positions of Chairperson of the Board and a further three Ordinary Board Members.

Minister Bruton highlighted the importance of these appointments at this time : “This is an exciting time for QQI. It is developing and implementing important policies that will maintain and promote the quality of our further and higher education sectors. As an organisation, it is also undergoing a process of internal change as it seeks to implement the recommendations of an organisational review. The legislative basis on which QQI operates is also being updated to strengthen its role as a regulator. The Board will play a key role in guiding the organisation through this significant programme of change”.
Minister Mitchell O Connor pointed to the importance of QQI as a national regulator: “Quality and Qualifications Ireland is the regulator for quality and quality assurance in the further and higher education sectors. It makes a very significant contribution to maintaining and enhancing quality standards in our education system. It is extremely important that the Board of QQI have the right mix of skills and experience to support the organisation in meeting its responsibilities. I would therefore encourage suitably qualified candidates to apply through PAS for membership of the Board of this important organisation”.

The process of filling the vacancies on the Board of Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) is being managed by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) under the revised procedures put in place in late 2014 for the appointment of persons to positions on State boards. Applications may only be made through the dedicated website www.stateboards.ie. PAS will undertake an assessment process in relation to the expressions of interest received and at the end of that process it will provide the Minister with a list of candidates deemed to be suitable for appointment to the Board.

The closing date for the receipt of applications via the website www.stateboards.ie is 29th. September 2017.



Notes for Editor:

Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI)
Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) is a state agency established by the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012. Its functions include those previously carried out by the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC); the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC); the Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB) and the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI).

QQI's role is to:
• promote, maintain and develop the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), a 10-level framework for the development, recognition and awarding of qualifications in Ireland;
• approve programmes offered at a variety of schools, colleges and further and higher education and training institutions. These programmes lead to qualifications (QQI awards) listed in the NFQ, which are recognised internationally;
• regulate and promote the quality of programmes offered by schools and colleges leading to qualifications in the NFQ for the benefit of learners, employers and other interested parties;
• ensure that providers offering national qualifications provide a positive, high-quality experience to international learners coming to study in Ireland. QQI will do this by authorising the International Education Mark (IEM);
• provide academic advice on the recognition of foreign qualifications in Ireland through a service called NARIC Ireland – the National Academic Recognition Information Centre. QQI also provide advice on the recognition of Irish qualifications abroad;
• inform the public about quality assured education and training programmes and qualifications through a database of programmes and a register of providers;
• manage a national scheme for the quality assurance of English language services (Accreditation and Coordination of English Language Services - ACELS);
• advise the Minister for Education and Skills about national policy on quality assurance and improvement in education and training.

QQI currently employs c. 78 staff. The website of QQI is available at: http://www.qqi.ie.

QQI Board
QQI is governed by a Board of ten members including the Chief Executive. The Board is appointed by the Minister for Education and Skills who also appoints the Chief Executive following a recommendation by the Board.
Expressions of interest are now sought to fill the upcoming vacancies of the Chairperson and three Ordinary Board Members.

Fees payable to board members
Members of the Board are not remunerated. Travel and subsistence allowances will be paid in respect of journeys undertaken to attend meetings of the Board or to transact its business.

Expressions of Interest
Further information on the process for submitting Expressions of Interest is available at the following link - http://stateboards.ie/stateboards/campaignAdvert/61530/booklet.htm