BellTime Magazine Spring/ Summer 2016 May 2016 | Page 16

BELLTIME

ICY Education

Ireland needs your talent to shape
a better next one hundred years

ICT Associate Professional
Programme Launches
INDUSTRY BODIES VALUE FURTHER
EDUCATION
IBEC / ICT Ireland and the Irish Software
companies
and the (ISA)
apprentices.
Association
describe the FIT ICT Associate
Current
evidence
around the
Professional from
programme,
inworld
a recent joint
reveals
that
companies
which
invest
publication Making Irelandinasuch
Global Technology
apprenticeships
derive
long
term and request
Powerhouse,
as amany
‘game
changer’
business benefits from doing so.
that ‘the next Government must promote this
For participating technology companies
innovative educational scheme and encourage
like IBM, the programme is designed to
participation’. In the same document they
In Photo(L-H): Fiona Hartley, Executive ensure that not only will they have an
called
foris the
next
ICTtoSkills
Action Plan to be
employee
who
being
trained
industry
Director Strategy and Knowledge, SOLAS,
augmented
to include
further
education
standards,
but they
will alsothe
have
an
Sean Ashe, Chief Executive KWETB, Peter
sector
as understands
a contributor
tounique
meeting the talent
who
their
Davitt, CEO FIT, Paul Sweetman, Directoremployee
demand.
conditions.
ICT Ireland/ISA, IBEC, Damien Englishworkplace

I

The ICT Talent Pipeline

T.D., Minister for Skills, Research and
Innovation and Eamonn Sinnott, General Future
Manager, Intel Ireland.
It ensures that future skills needs will be

EDUCATION
AND
met and
also provides
a pool of skilled
employees
from
which
future supervisors
TRAINING BOARDS
ARE
One hundred years ago those who
and managers
could be internally recruited.
KEY PARTNERS
went before us fought for our freedom
By training within a technology compa­
and thankfully the biggest battle we
ny's working environment apprentices use
now face is how to shape a better
Five FIT ICTAP programmes
the tools and IT equipment that will be
century for all of our citizens. The
are currently running with
to carry out their specific job role.
recently published Ireland’s National needed
the
collaboration
andlearn
support
As
a
result,
the skills they
are of
Skills Strategy 2025 states ‘Increasingly
of
SOLAS
and
Educa