19 October, 2015 - Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan, TD, welcomes €1m funding for Regional Skills Fora

Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan, TD, today welcomed the Budget 2016 allocation of €1m to support Regional Skills Fora.

Speaking at the launch of the Mid West Action Plan for Jobs Minister O’Sullivan said, “The Shannon Region Skills Forum is an important element of the Mid West Action Plan for Jobs.  It is part of a new national network of Regional Skills fora that are being established to foster better links between education and enterprise in building the supply of skills to support job creation and development of each region. €1m in direct funding will be provided in 2016 to support the new network across eight regions.  This is a development that Minister Damien English and myself have been very supportive of and the dedicated funding is an indication of the Government’s commitment to fostering closer links between skills providers and enterprise.”

“The Action Plan for Jobs gives us a coherent, targeted approach to regional job creation.  It utilises all the resources and talents of each region and I am particularly pleased to see the prominent role that education institutes in the Mid West will play.  The quality of UL, LIT and other colleges and education centres in the region is an important factor in winning new investment and providing jobs.  They are now part of an overall plan that I am confident will pay dividends.”

ENDS