Irish Vocational Education Association

An Cumann Gairmoideachais in Éirinn

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Realignment of Education and Skills Training
24 March 2010
In welcoming the realignment of education and skills training under the new Department of Education and Skills, the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) views this consolidation as a significant and important development.
General Secretary of the IVEA Michael Moriarty states:
"The IVEA Congress in 2009 called for the establishment of a Department of Education and Skills because it recognised the difficulties in coordinating at local level the education and training activities between VECs and FÁS. To improve this situation, IVEA and FÁS have recently signed a co-operation agreement to copperfasten a commitment to work together to address local education and training needs. With responsibility for skills training and education now under one ministerial portfolio, the IVEA-FÁS co-operation agreement has been further underpinned, and this closer alignment will certainly lead to a more efficient delivery of education and training services."
"In view of the renewed emphasis on skills training signalled by the renaming of the Department of Education and Science to the Department of Education and Skills, IVEA is now calling on Minister Coughlan to review to urgently review the cap on places in Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses, currently restricted to 31500, and we further call for the restoration of the 500 places dropped from the Back to Education Initiative in the last budget. These restrictions have left our member VECs in a position where they have been unable to comprehensively address the vastly increased demand for education and training places for thousands of adults, who cannot access training programmes because of these imposed limits."
"I am hopeful that the new Minister for Education will look afresh at these matters with a view to restoring some significant capacity to VEC education and training services as soon as possible."
The Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) is the representative body for the 33 Vocational Educational Committees (VECs) in Ireland, and works to protect, promote and enhance the interests of vocational education and training within the wider education sector and the country at large.
VEC/PLC Colleges have developed a range of programmes and courses in response to the needs of industry and commerce which are certified by FETAC at levels 3 to 6, and by the professional bodies which set standards for entry into the professions.
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