Monday 30th January saw the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD, together with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, launch the Joint Government - Industry ICT Action Plan: Meeting the High Level ICT Skills Needs of Enterprise in Ireland.
DBS in conjunction with the Higher Education Authority (and Industry partners) is delighted to be part of this initiative which will provide graduates with the opportunity to reskill & cross skill for free under a range of approved and accredited Postgraduate conversion courses identified as providing specialised ICT training that will offer graduates a realistic prospect of a graduate level entry into the ICT sector and produce graduates which genuinely satisfy the needs of industry.
Launching the Action Plan, Minister Quinn said that “Providing the right skills at the right time for the right jobs is absolutely essential if we are to get the Irish economy back on its feet. We need to take action to develop a sustainable domestic supply of high level ICT skills over time to drive the further expansion and development of the sector and to support innovation and growth across other sectors of the economy.
“Participation on the programmes will be fully subsidised by my Department; no fees will be charged.” the Minister said.
The Action Plan also sets out how we are going to build the supply and quality of graduates in the medium term to long term. It establishes an ambitious target of doubling the annual output of ICT graduates from 1,000 this year to 2,000 by 2018.
Minister Richard Bruton added, “"The Government's plan to get jobs and growth back into the country will have no 'big bang' solution, but will require transformation across all sectors and a brick-by-brick rebuilding of the economy. A key part of this will be to get the greatest possible benefit out of the strengths we have, and the ICT sector, where there are over 1000 vacancies and great potential for future growth, provides a major opportunity for employment if we can provide the necessary skills. The government is determined to train more people to take up these jobs, and today we are committing a series of ambitious targets, including doubling the number of graduates in this area by 2018. With proper implementation this will make a major contribution to getting the country back to work".
Speaking at the launch, Regina Moran, Chair of ICT Ireland, said: “The technology industry is a significant area of growth in Ireland and is a crucial sector for economic prosperity. All of the top 10 global technology companies have a major presence here and importantly we have a powerful indigenous software sector. With 80 jobs a week being announced since the beginning of 2011, the sector offers fantastic career opportunities in a variety of fields.
“In order to meet the skills demand of this growing sector, industry and government have combined forces to develop the education action plan launched today. This plan addresses the need for skilled graduates and employees through a number of long and short term measures and policy initiatives. Industry is fully supportive of this plan and indeed has played an integral part in its development. The plan sends a strong signal to the global business community that Ireland will remain a powerhouse for technology.”