Speech by the Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, T.D., at the official opening of FÁS Opportunities 2008 in Croke Park Conference Centre on Friday, 29 February, 2008 at 12 noon.
It is a pleasure to join you here today at FÁS Opportunities 2008. Over the next four days, people will be able to check out for themselves a wide range of opportunities for jobs, educational courses, training programmes, advice on careers and personal development.
This exhibition, involving over 160 organisations and companies, is the biggest of its kind in Europe. I would like to pay tribute to the partnership between FÁS and the Irish Independent which has made it such a success. I would also like to commend the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, and in particular Frank Mulvihill, for their very welcome support.
The Opportunities exhibition has come a long way since it first opened its doors in 1994, with just 30 exhibitors. Today, demand for space is so great that the only way to accommodate more participants would be to move out onto the pitch. The exhibition has become a "must see' event for second level students thinking about their future careers. It has also developed into a very important resource for people looking for a career change; people who are currently unemployed; newly arrived migrant workers; returned emigrants - in fact, anyone interested in learning something new, in developing themselves, in improving their prospects - in enriching their lives.
All the evidence tells us that employment is the best way to help lift people out of poverty and boost living standards. Employment is also an important way of helping people to achieve a sense of personal security and to participate fully in social and economic life.
The Government has made it a key priority to help those outside the labour force to make the transition into work. Some are ready to make that transition straightaway. Others need the benefit of further education or training. Central to our approach in future years will be a much more proactive and supportive engagement by the State with vulnerable groups such as the long-term unemployed, lone parents and people with disabilities. Clearly, FÁS has a key role to play in helping us to achieve these objectives.
Of course, we now face a more challenging economic environment than we have for many years past. Training and qualifications will be key to success in our increasingly knowledge - intensive employments.
We all accept that training is crucial for everyone seeking to find employment but upskilling of those at work has to be a particular priority in the period ahead. We have to act now if we are to avoid seeing significant numbers becoming unemployed among some of the more traditional occupational groups. FÁS has undertaken a number of important initiatives in this area. They include:
- the ‘One Step Up’ and ‘Excellence Through People’ programmes, which provide general upskilling for existing members of the workforce;
- involvement in ongoing development and expansion of apprenticeships to meet industry needs; and
- the FÁS partnership with the US organisations and NASA, which allows electricians to become highly qualified technicians in the cutting edge technologies of the future.
All in all, €77 million has been allocated towards training people in the workplace this year, in addition to funding for apprenticeships. This represents a ten per cent increase on 2007 and is a measure of the Government's commitment to action in this area. But, of course, we can not do it on our own. I would like to take the opportunity today to call on employers and employees to make a real commitment to upskilling: our future depends on it. It is very easy to get caught up in the day to day battle for survival but if we neglect training, upskilling and learning, we will lose the war. I am glad to see that many companies, organisations and individual workers are taking this message on board but, of course, much more needs to be done.
I would also like to use today's event to urge companies and organisations to review their HR strategies. Last month, Billy Kelleher, the Minister for Labour Affairs, launched a report on New Models of High Performance Work Systems. The report shows that the average - sized company in Ireland can increase its revenue by around €12 million per annum by using advanced HR management practices; flexible working arrangements; diversity and equality strategies; and workplace partnership.
Many companies are already using high performance work systems to very good effect on their bottom lines. This Spring might be a good time for others to consider the possibilities for following suit and sharing in the gains. Much is often made of the extent to which we are at the mercy of factors outside our control. This is something people can do for themselves and it can really make a difference.
Change is our future and in moving forward, we must avoid defensive, knee - jerk reactions to it. The reality is that we need to be far more ambitious in our aspirations. This applies particularly to the public sector. A lot has been achieved in the public sector by bodies such as FÁS through partnership initiatives, and the speed at which change has been delivered has improved. But change sometimes appears to be happening much faster in the private sector. We cannot afford the perception that we have a two-tier work force, operating as it were in different time zones. Especially when the effectiveness of the public and private sectors are so mutually interdependent in terms of our long term success.
I know FÁS Director General, Rody Molloy, likes to quote an international expert on organisational change, who once said: ‘Change is disturbing when it is done to us, and exhilarating when it is done by us.’ The choice is ours - but we should be in no doubt that, one way or another, change will happen.
I am delighted, by the way, to see that Jeanette Ervine, the wife of the late David Ervine, is here with us today, along with representatives of the David Ervine Foundation Trust. David’s untimely passing was a great loss to all of us throughout the Island of Ireland, and his substantial contribution to the Peace Process, culminating in the restoration of the Institutions, was most significant and will not be forgotten.
Jeanette’s presence here today also reminds us of the important cross-border work carried on by FÁS over many years, led and facilitated by Rody Molloy. I would like to take the opportunity today to commend him and his team for their work in this area.
EU Reform Treaty
Before I conclude, I would just like to say a few words on the subject of the EU Reform Treaty. EU membership has been massively beneficial to Ireland, not only in terms of significant funding but also through our participation in the Single Market. It has led to increased opportunities in the Research & Development sector and promoted lifelong learning and the growth of the education sector. All of these factors have greatly assisted in the development of a highly skilled, educated and motivated workforce in Ireland.
The EU will continue to be crucial in our future well-being. The Reform Treaty will enhance and improve the functioning of the Union. It will support economic growth, job creation, international trade and environmental sustainability. And it will reduce bureaucracy, speed up decision making and give us a Union more responsive to our businesses and citizens. In short, it creates the Union needed so that Member States can work together to sustain prosperity, safeguard the environment and create and protect jobs. The Reform Treaty is overwhelmingly in the interests of everyone here today and indeed everyone on this island.
In concluding, I would like to congratulate everyone involved in putting this exhibition together. You have done a great job. I now declare FÁS Opportunities 2008 - and with it, the Careers Village, the Education Village and the Skills Village - officially open.
Thank you very much for your attention.
ENDS