Ireland – 11th June, 2008 -  AONTAS, the National Adult Learning Organisation, today repeated calls for the government to take action following the increase in those signing on the live register as outlined by the CSO . The figures reflect the highest increase in the number of those signing on the live register since July 1999 with the figure now standing in excess of 200,000.

Reacting to the statistics, Berni Brady, AONTAS Director urged the government to turn its immediate attention to the issue of upskilling those members of the workforce most at risk of unemployment in the event of an economic downturn. ‘Although we were aware that those employed in the construction sector were most at risk, the fact that more women are now signing on the live register is deeply worrying.’

Yesterday, the INOU issued a statement outlining their concern at the lack of government response to these trends.

‘A practical response to this issue involves providing opportunities for those in employment to upskill within the workplace’, continued Ms Brady. This would enable workers to make the transition from one sector to another, and to consider alternative employment options. AONTAS is concerned at the lack of progress regarding the ambitious targets identified within the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs report. Given that economists have predicted another increase in unemployment over the next six to twelve months period, the government must take heed, and act accordingly, through a speedier implementation of the National Skills Strategy‘ she concluded.

AONTAS is the National Adult Learning Organisation. AONTAS is a non-government membership organisation, established in 1969. The organisation’s mission is to ensure that every adult in Ireland has access to appropriate and affordable learning opportunities throughout their lives, thus enabling them to contribute to and participate in the economic, social, civic and cultural development of Irish society. AONTAS is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. AONTAS represents over 600 members, ranging from statutory providers of adult education, such as VECs and third level institutions, to voluntary providers of community education, to individual adult learners and those with a general interest in adult education. The role of AONTAS is to work towards improving the adult education sector in Ireland through policy development, promoting the benefits of adult education and research.
The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs was established in 1997. The group advises government on future skills requirements and associated labour market issues that impact on national potential for enterprise and employment growth. In March 2007 the group published a report entitled ‘Tomorrow’s Skills : Towards a National Skills Strategy’ which included an outline of the skills required for Ireland to develop over the period to 2020 as a competitive, innovation-driven, knowledge-based, participative and inclusive economy.

Source: AONTAS Press Release

Ireland – Tuesday, 5th August, 2008 – Cllr. Pat Whelan has called for the up-skilling of Irish workers after it emerged this week that 90% of new jobs created in the last 12 months were being filled by foreign nationals.

“This information from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) bucks the widely held belief, that many migrant workers will leave Ireland for other EU countries as our economy slows down, and that a large proportion of new jobs being created in Ireland will be taken up by the Irish workforce,” said Cllr. Whelan.

“The biggest share of new jobs are being created in high value sectors like financial and other business services, which grew by 26,300 in the year to the first quarter of 2008, and accounted for almost half (48.9%) of all jobs created. It had been assumed that Irish workers would take up most of these positions. But the CSO data indicates that foreign nationals will be recruited for a significant proportion of these new positions,” the Town Councillor continued.

“This trend needs to be fully researched by Government, as it could well be a warning about Ireland’s ability to attract foreign direct investment. There is no doubt that some of this increase in jobs uptake by migrant workers is due to their improving English language skills, leaving lower skilled jobs and moving up the value chain in line with their educational qualifications,” he said.

“Some of this is as a result of the increasing cost of childcare, as two thirds of the jobs created in the 12 month period were part time and 70% of these jobs were taken up by women. Migrant women have a lower dependency ratio and as a result are in a better position to take up employment.

“But the more worrying concern is that this is partly a result of the Government’s failure to properly re-skill our indigenous workforce to compete for these growth areas in employment. This trend cannot be ignored and it is imperative that the Government acts now, rather than sitting on its hands.

“More migrants moving up the value chain will certainly benefit the economy, but if it continues without being properly evaluated we could be skilling other economies to facilitate the transfer of jobs from Ireland. The Government has consistently buried its head in the sand on this issue, hoping that the economy will rectify itself. But the country needs clear solutions now that will benefit our economic potential in the future.”

Cllr. Whelan said the government needs to identify and up-skill vulnerable workers, expand training for those activities that still offer good prospects, such as professional services, health-related caring professions, IT, home energy efficiency technologies, and HGV drivers, use funding from the NDP and European Social Fund to fund a massive ‘eco-training’ programme for 10,000 skilled workers laid off from the construction sector, and ensure that changes to community childcare supports do not disadvantage those already in employment.

Source: Westmeath Examiner

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