Kildare and Wicklow ETB Newsletter Issue 7 | Page 22

September 2015 22

Part of the 2012 Action Plan for SOLAS, informed by the FET Sector is to ‘provide or assist in the provision of training to persons charged with the delivery of further education and training programmes’. (Further Education and Training Act, 2013). This requirement is detailed in the national FET Strategy Goal 3: Quality Provision and (SOLAS) are required to make a case for a CPD Strategy for FET staff by;

Systematically collecting data around the current qualifications and skills profile of FET staff with a view to developing and implementing an effective CPD (continuous professional development) strategy.

Paul Malone from SOLAS presented the Skills Profile Project to a large group of FET Coordinators and Managers in KWETB on the 29th May. The project and initiative was welcomed by all. The investment was described by our staff as hugely significant for the sector. It was considered as a positive recognition of the value and contribution of the further education and training sector to Irish society.

SOLAS in conjunction with the ETBs’ has established a project advisory group, on a national level, with representatives from ETBI, SOLAS and ETBs to design and conduct a data collection tool to gather and analyse information on the current skills and qualification of those working in the FET Sector. This project advisory group is being supported and informed by external expert consultants and ETB personnel. The ETB personnel on the project advisory group are from Kildare and Wicklow ETB, Kerry ETB, Dublin and Dun Laoghaire ETB and City of Dublin ETB.

The data collection tool will be in the form of a confidential on line survey using a profiling tool to be completed voluntarily by all those working in Further Education and Training in ETBs. It is anticipated that the survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete. The survey tool will cover all FET staff including, project workers, tutors/teachers, coordinators, administrators, managers and support staff. It will not be traceable back to any one person and the national report will not identify individual ETBs.

The timeframe of the project will be:

Kildare and Wicklow ETB will issue further communications and briefs on the project as it develops. If any centre or service would like additional information please email [email protected] and information or a meeting will be arranged.

Investing In Our Future

Further Education and Training; National Skills Profile Project

1. September 2015

Testing of the Profiling Tool

2. October - November 2015

Roll out to all ETB's

3. January 2016

Feedback and Focus Groups

4. March 2016

Completion of the Skills

Profile Reports