TRACING THE IMPACT OF WORK PLACEMENTS ON VOCATIONAL LEARNERS: IRELAND NATIONAL REPORT
The position of vocational education and training in Ireland then is somewhat complex. It can be both a preparation for employment and a route towards higher education. It aims to create skills relevant for the workplace, but concentrates on classroom-based training. It is an important mechanism for social inclusion, but is not always afforded high societal status. It remains however an important pillar in the Irish education system, providing access to education for many thousands of learners. The 2014–2019 SOLAS FET strategy sets out five strategic goals to ensure the sector remains vibrant and relevant: • Creating skills useful for the economy and to employers • Active inclusion of people of all abilities in society • Providing training that meets national and international quality standards • Integrating planning and funding based on needs analyses • Keeping FET in good standing by ensuring it is a valued learning path leading to agreed employment, personal, social and developmental options. Through actions associated with these goals, it is hoped that FET will continue to ‘improve the wellbeing of individuals, communities and enterprises.’ This objective is very much in keeping with the Erasmus+ aim to ‘improve the level of key competences and skills, with particular regard to their relevance for the labour market and their contribution to a cohesive society.’13
European-Funded Mobility Programmes for VET Learners in Ireland, 2007–2019 As noted in the Introduction, the European Union has funded and supported the mobility of vocational learners from Ireland for more than three decades. The National Agency for these programmes in Ireland is Léargas, an agency of the Department of Education and Skills until its transfer to the newlyestablished Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in 2020. Léargas seeks to connect people in different communities and countries, and bring an international dimension to the work of organisations across Ireland. This study focuses on the two most recent EU programmes: Leonardo da Vinci Mobility, which ran from 2007 to 2013 as part of the Lifelong Learning Programme; and Erasmus+ Mobility for VET Staff and Learners, which is part of the wider Erasmus+ programme running from 2014 to 2020. Leonardo da Vinci Mobility had three distinct project ‘actions’, or categories, aimed at: • people in initial vocational training (IVT) • people in the labour market (PLM) • professional trainers in VET organisations (VETPro). This study covers only those involved in the IVT category, which enabled apprentices/trainees to travel to other European countries for vocational training or work experience in enterprises/training institutions. The longest possible mobility duration in this category was 39 weeks, though the majority of placements organised from Ireland were between two and six weeks.14 Erasmus+ serves all vocational learners and staff members in just one category, ‘Mobility Projects for 13 Erasmus+ Programme Guide. Available from https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/programme-guide/part-b_en 14 Making a Difference: Study of the Impact of Learning Mobility Lifelong Learning Programme in Ireland 2007–09. Léargas
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