All-Island Skills Conference
The first All-Island Skills Conference organised by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and the Northern Ireland Skills Expert Group took place in Letterkenny and Derry in October 2008.
The Conference was jointly opened by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan TD and Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey MLA. Sean Haughey TD, Minister for Lifelong Learning also participated.
Among the issues highlighted were the importance of creating a suitably skilled workforce tailored to the needs of employers, along with the many benefits of collaborating on an all-island basis to ensure that skills remain a key resource for a competitive and prosperous economy. The conference attracted presentations from leading national and international experts and provided a platform for the launch of an All-Island Skills Study developed jointly by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and the Northern Ireland Skills Expert Group and which provides a comprehensive analysis of the skills demand across the island.
Presentations from the conference can be downloaded below.
Presentations
North West Gateway Strategic Alliance |
| All-Island Skills Study Anne Heraty, Chair of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and Dr Bill McGinnis, Northern Ireland Advisor on Employment and Skills  Presentation - Anne Heraty and Bill McGinnis (PDF, 8 pages, 252KB) |
| The Importance of Skills: Some International Evidence John Martin, Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD Presentation - John Martin (PDF, 13 pages, 292KB) |
| North West Workforce Development Forum John Spangler, Chairman of the North West Workforce Development Forum Presentation - John Spangler (PDF, 11 pages, 88KB) |
| Eures Cross Border Partnership Michael Carr, Co-ordinator of the EURES crossborder partnership for Northern Ireland Presentation - Michael Carr (PDF, 12 pages, 91KB) |
Photos from the All-Island Skills Conference
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| Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan TD, addresses the first All-Island Skills Conference. | Forfás Chief Executive Martin Cronin with Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey MLA (centre) and Martin Shanahan, Science, Technology and Human Capital Divisional Manager, Forfás. |
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| Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey MLA and Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, TD. | Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey MLA and Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, TD focussing on skills. |
Related Links
- Publication: All-Island Skills Study
- News: Speech from the All-Island Skills Conference
