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I The Role and Potential of Vocational Education
The recent and on-going transformation and reform of the Further Education and Training sector can be contextualised in the promotion and advancement of Vocational Education and Training (VET) by the European
Commission in recent years.
Vocational Education and Training in Europe
Vocational Education has been both mainstreamed and prioritised by the European Commission, which now places VET at the centre of Europe’s strategy for economic regeneration. Over the past few years, the Commission has presented its strategy in a series of Communiqués.
The Helsinki Communiqué 1 of 2006 highlighted that Education and Training play a crucial role in responding to the major challenges faced by European member states, such as new technologies, rapid economic change and skills deficits.
The Lisbon Strategy 2 (2004) declared that VET plays a key role in human capital accumulation for the achievement of economic growth, employment and social objectives. VET is now seen as an essential tool in
1 The Helsinki Communiqué on Enhanced European Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training, see http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/helsinkicom_en.pdf
2 Facing The Challenge: The Lisbon strategy for growth and employment, Report from the High Level Group chaired by Wim
Kok, November 2004, see http://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/pdf/archive/fp6-evidence-
Education and Training Boards Ireland
Piper’s Hill
Kilcullen Road
Naas, Co Kildare
Telephone: +353 (0)45 901 070
Fax: +353 (0)45 901 711
Web: www.etbi.ie
General Secretary: Michael Moriarty

providing European citizens with the skills, knowledge and competences needed in the labour market and in a knowledge-based society.
The Bruges Communiqué 3 (2010) saw VET as an engine for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and it set out a global vision for VET in 2020 and laid out strategic objectives for member states for the period 2011-2020:
 Improve the quality and efficiency of VET and enhance its attractiveness and relevance;
 Make Lifelong Learning and mobility a reality;
 Enhance creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship;
 Promote equity, social cohesion and active citizenship.
All across Europe therefore, national governments, social partners and national authorities are working to modernise VET. Together they are committed to achieving the objectives of the Bruges Communiqué as part of their support for the Strategic Framework for European Co-operation in Education and Training (ET 2020 4 ).
Education authorities in all countries in the EU are implementing European-wide initiatives at national level which support vocational education and training.
ETBI is very much involved in European initiatives, and is a founding member of EUproVET 5 which is a European network of national VET organisations; ETBI is also engaged in two very significant projects with European partners:
 The EULIVET 6 partnership project to identify good leadership and management practices in VET and to support the deliverables of the Bruges Communiqué in fostering the quality and relevance of VET;
 The EDISON 7 partnership project to develop a Train the Trainers programme in entrepreneurship, involving the importation and localisation to Ireland of best practices in teaching entrepreneurship from Austria,
Italy and Spain. base/evaluation_studies_and_reports/evaluation_studies_and_reports_2004/the_lisbon_strategy_for_growth_and_employ ment__report_from_the_high_level_group.pdf
3 The Bruges Communiqué on Supporting Vocational Education and Training in Europe for the Period 2011-2020, see http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/vocational-policy/doc/brugescom_en.pdf
4 Council Conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European Cooperation in education and training (‘ET
2020’), see http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2009:119:0002:0010:EN:PDF
5 European Providers of Vocational Education and Training (EUproVET), see http://www.etbi.ie/european-links/euprovet-2/
6 European Leadership and Management in VET (EULIVET), see http://www.etbi.ie/european-links/eulivet/
7 Educational Diversity and Innovative Skills on Entrepreneurship (EDISON), see http://www.etbi.ie/european-links/edison/
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Reform of Vocational Education and Training Structures in Ireland
The current structural reform of Vocational Education and Training in Ireland is in line with the European policy to modernise VET systems across Europe. In Ireland, the Vocational Education Committees (VECs) were abolished on
1st July 2013 and replaced by 16 regional Education and Training Boards (ETBs), in a very profound reorganisation of the education and training structures. ETBs are constituted from the amalgamation of smaller local VECs and the integration of the Training Division of the former FÁS (16 Training Centres). This is an important point to note.
Already seven of the 16 Training Centres have transferred to four ETBs and the remaining nine will transfer to their local ETBs by the middle of this year. This structural realignment is therefore a work in progress and will take time to complete.
While the ETBs have been established by the Education and Training Board Act 2013 8 , SOLAS was established in
November 2013 by the Further Education and Training Act 2013 9 which also abolished FÁS.
SOLAS 10 has statutory responsibility for the strategic planning, funding and co-ordination of Further Education and
Training programmes, while responsibility for the delivery of all publicly-funded Further Education and Training now lies with the ETBs. Their relationship with SOLAS will be governed by Service Level Agreements (SLAs) which
SOLAS negotiated with the 16 ETBs. These will set out the strategy and targets to be achieved by ETBs through the delivery of education and training programmes, and careful monitoring and appraisal will ensure that there is compliance with government priorities and policy.
For decades the vocational sector in Ireland has been the “Cinderella” of the educational system, not seen or treated as a separate sector in its own right. Now it is to be mainstreamed and promoted to realise Minister
Quinn’s stated aim in July 2013, a world-class further education and training system.
The FET sector’s future growth will be nurtured by SOLAS which is currently developing a five-year strategy for the sector in consultation with ETBs and other relevant stakeholders. This will set out a vision for the sector which will provide a road map leading to the future development of FET in Ireland.
The 16 ETBs and SOLAS are currently establishing their new operational structures. ETBI and our member ETBs are actively engaging with SOLAS on many fronts during this period of transition. As training functions transfer from
SOLAS (FÁS) to the ETBs, the considerable and complex support structures must be modified and redesigned, and this work is currently on-going. Translating the plan in a structural reform process of this magnitude into action is
8 Education and Training Board Act 2013, see http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/2013/a1113.pdf
9 Further Education and Training Act 2013, see http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/2013/a2513.pdf
10 SOLAS, The Further Education and Training Authority in Ireland, see http://www.solas.ie/
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very challenging. In this context, the Programme Board and Project Office were established by the Department of
Education and Skills to support this complex transition process.
The Future of VET in Ireland
In order to fully realise the future potential of VET and to build a new and better system, we also needed to examine and explore the current models of delivery of further education and training.
The NESC Strategic Review of FET 11 for the Department of Education and Skills and the Department’s own Review of Apprenticeship Training 12 have recently been published and will serve to drive the exploitation of the potential of vocational education and inform its future strategic growth.
The Review of FET noted that ETBs will be assuming responsibility for all publicly-funded FET programmes, to be delivered either through their own resources or through sub-contracting to other providers. The Review recommends key priorities that should guide strategy for future FET delivery:
Flexibility and responsiveness in delivery;
Robust evaluation of outcomes;
On-going collection and assessment of data;
Development and adaptation of courses that meet the skills needs of local and regional employers;
Effective allocation of resources to target the unemployed.
ETBI has welcomed the Report and actively co-operated in the research stage. ETBI endorses these key principles for the future development of the sector, acknowledging that while much good work has been achieved in the past two decades, we need to re-build, re-brand and re-vitalise the sector to meet more effectively the challenges of an Ireland still burdened by debt, high unemployment rates and lack of job opportunities. The key to the future lies in the re-skilling and up-skilling of jobseekers and other learners. Climbing the skills ladder is essential for
Ireland’s future prosperity.
ETBI holds quarterly Business Education Fora in our headquarters in Naas. At these events, high-level
representatives of the FET and business sectors debate issues relating to skills supply and demand. It has been
11 A Strategic Review of Further Education and Training and the Unemployed , see http://www.nesc.ie/assets/files/Sec_Non_NESC_Papers/A%20strategic%20review%20of%20FET%20and%20Unemployed_Oc t13.pdf
12 Review of Apprenticeship Training in Ireland, see http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Policy-Reports/Review-of-
Apprenticeship-Training-in-Ireland.pdf
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obvious from these debates that business and enterprise need many middle level skills to support their development.
To become truly effective, the current structural re-alignment of the FET and VET sector will require greater engagement between industry and providers. Aligning employers’ skills needs and the opportunities offered by
FET must be addressed as a priority, and will require a systemic and effective engagement at local level. I believe that the establishment of the new 21-member Boards of ETBs this summer will provide an opportunity for the creation of Employer-FET sub-committees, which can provide for the active engagement of industry with FET providers at local level, both in curriculum development and in ensuring that education and training programmes continue to meet the evolving needs of local industry. From this engagement, structured job placements can be developed, providing sustained and combined workplace learning with learning in an educational setting, and ensuring that theoretical learning is grounded in practical experience.
The Review of Apprenticeship Training recommended that there “should be at least 50% workplace learning”. In this context, Ireland has been out of sync with the European norm, and in the current restructuring of vocational education, the active engagement of employers with trainers must be restored.
To quote from the Review of FET, “More employers need to take responsibility for training and, in co-operation with providers, become more involved in both syllabus development and job placements”. In a recent high level meeting between ETB Chief Executive Officers and 16 leaders from the IT sector at a meeting hosted by ETBI and
FIT, this same message was heard: “For VET to be effective, the IT industry must engage meaningfully and continually with education and training to ensure relevant curricula and programmes which meet the skills needs today and tomorrow”.
Developing the future potential of VET will also require close and formal collaboration between state agencies.
ETBs, Intreo, DSP and SOLAS must all collaborate at both local and national level. Protocols are already being agreed between the ETBs and Intreo offices at local level to manage the effective transfer of jobseekers to training programmes. Besides the development of seamless linkages between ETBs and Intreo offices locally, nationally there needs to be high-level strategic engagement between ETBs, SOLAS and DSP.
I want now to refer to two significant challenges that must be addressed if we are to optimise the effectiveness of
VET. Firstly, with regard to the referral process, the proper identification of the skills needs of adult learners and jobseekers must be done by qualified professionals to ensure that vulnerable adults seeking new skills in line with their personal aptitude are directed to the most appropriate courses. There are currently far too few such
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qualified Adult Guidance personnel to manage the referral process, as their numbers have been depleted by the public service embargo on recruitment. This must be addressed as a priority.
The second significant challenge, highlighted by NESC, is the provision of client-focussed, relevant, flexible and easily accessible education and training. Historically, many PLC courses were developed incrementally over the years, located in the ETBs’ (VEC) second-level schools, with tutors who are very often second-level teachers. The consequent alignment of PLC provision with the academic year will present challenges in terms of the provision of more flexible training options. The Review of FET has urged ETBs to move away from the traditional academic year approach to a more flexible delivery structure as had been provided by FÁS. The ETBs’ (VECs’) network of vocational schools and colleges has been the backbone of VET in Ireland since the 1930s, providing night and day courses in every parish in Ireland. ETB (VEC) schools were, by and large, the only ones which functioned in the evenings. The flexibility of provision needs to be extended and modified so that relevant education and training programmes meet the needs of clients. In other words, all year round programme provision must become the norm. Achieving this objective will be a significant challenge for all stakeholders involved, including the
Department of Education and Skills.
For decades the potential of VET in Ireland has never been properly exploited. The fact that students opt for VET programmes much later in life than is the European norm is unique to Ireland. The arrival of SOLAS as the champion of FET means that the sector can now stand shoulder to shoulder with the first, second and third level sectors. But much needs to change, old ways must be set aside and new directions must be taken towards flexible all year round provision.
The goal is for Ireland to have a world class FET system by 2020. The work to realise this goal has started. It will need commitment, drive, collaboration, flexibility and imagination from the leadership and staff of the ETBs and
SOLAS. Achieving this high-level goal will require the continued support and commitment of, not just the
Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Social Protection, but the whole of government. The stakes are high and the challenges difficult, but the successful achievement of the goal will be in the best interests of Ireland’s people and their future.
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II The Role and Potential of Community Education
The Vocational Education Committee sector, recognising the potential of Community Education to enhance the lives of those who participated in it, as well as the wider community, led the development of Adult and
Community Education in Ireland in the 1970s. Today Education and Training Boards Ireland and our member
Education and Training Boards are equally committed to developing a fit for purpose model for local and national needs, with both wide-ranging and locally-focussed scope, flexibility of delivery and wider access for all.
The right to education is a fundamental human right, essential for the exercise of all other human rights, and it is guaranteed by international conventions and laws. By ratifying these instruments, Ireland agreed to promote and develop the right of every person to enjoy access to education of good quality, without discrimination or exclusion.
The right to education is not limited to primary or second-level schooling, or among children of a particular age range. Learning should be for everyone, whatever their need, status, or educational background. Ensuring access
to education is a precondition for full realisation of the right to education. We should make learning accessible to all. Without access, it is not possible to guarantee the right to education. Ensuring the quality of education is the other side of the coin.
The right to education is an important tool in improving the quality of life. “Education is key to economic development and the enjoyment of many other human rights. Education provides a means through which all people can become aware of their rights and responsibilities, which is an essential tool for achieving the goals of equality and peace” 13 .
In Ireland we constantly focus on our financial or economic capital, often failing to recognise the potential wealth of our social capital. Community Education can be the tool by which we may cultivate this valuable resource. A healthy democracy relies on its people to be informed, interested and above all, engaged. The Community
Education sector can be a powerful influence, with the potential to bring us together as a community and make us cohesive.
The Department of Education White Paper on Adult Education: Learning for Life 14 (2000) clearly identified key characteristics of the Community Education sector, among them its rootedness in the community, its respect for
13 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. See http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
14 Learning for Life: White Paper on Adult Education, July 2000. See http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Policy-
Reports/fe_aduled_wp.pdf
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participants and its reflection of their lived experience, its concern for communal values, and its promotion of personalised learning and flexibility within the environment of a learning group. The White Paper noted that its goals include not just individual development but also collective community advancement, especially in marginalised community. The White Paper clearly links Community Education, with its promotion of participative democracy, to community development, and acknowledges the key role that Community Education plays in transforming society.
It identifies Community Education as a part of a wider adult education agenda. It also defines Community
Education in terms of its ideological underpinnings and the value placed upon ‘participants as equal learners’. It describes Community Education as ‘a process of communal education towards empowerment, both at an
individual and a collective level’.
Community Education has a number of defining characteristics
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It provides a learning environment;
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It is located within the community, not just geographical but the community of shared experiences;
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Control remains within the community group;
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The processes are grounded in person-centred values;
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The participants’ own experience and their critical reflection on it are valued as the basis of learning.
Community Education best practice is holistic, welcoming, supportive, and empowering of all participants in a non-threatening environment. It is based on the principle of partnership, where learning takes place on a level playing field and learners and tutors are equal contributors, each learning from the other.
This system requires critical thinking on the part of both tutors and learners. Being both willing and able to evaluate one's thinking requires the development of intellectual empathy and intellectual humility. Developing critical thinking traits requires learning the art of suspending judgment – for example, when reading a novel, watching a play, or engaging in the exchange of ideas – through adopting a perceptive rather than judgmental orientation.
Many adults find themselves in jobs that make very little use, and sometimes no use, of their most highly developed intelligences. Many people can find themselves unemployed and feeling isolated and vulnerable. In both cases, participating in a Community Education course may help restore confidence and even provide a focus for moving forward for those disengaged by a non-supportive working environment or bewildered by the changes in their circumstances.
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Community Education has the potential transform lives, by enabling participants to develop and understand their role within the system, and thus to grow in confidence, self-knowledge and self-determination. The journey of one participant went from “having to leave school at thirteen to help at home” right through to becoming a tutor at an Adult Education Centre. This learner, with the help of her tutors, not only participated in the change process but designed and led the transformation of her own life, as well as that of her family and community.
The ethos of Community Education encourages self-directed learning while recognising individual learning development. It respects the validity and importance of the life experiences of participants and encourages them to relate what they already know to the new information they are learning. Participants, both learners and tutors, learn from each other. At its most fundamental, Community education acknowledges that the journey is just as important as reaching the destination.
It is essential to realise the extent to which Community Education can lead to greater social and political participation. Being rooted in the community, Community Education has the capacity to change and enhance the lives of all involved, not just learners and tutors, but also facilitators, co-ordinators and managers, as well as the wider community.
Community Education is a fundamental pillar for social and political cohesion, encouraging local involvement and the empowerment of Irish people across the country, and ETBI, and our member ETBs, hope to continue to provide support structures and facilities for its future development.
ETBI thanks the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection for the kind invitation to attend the meeting to discuss the role and potential of Community Education and Vocational Education, in both of which
ETBI and our member ETBs are centrally involved. At your request, we will be happy to make further contributions on these two very important educational sectors.
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