Key Milestones in the Evolution of Skills Policy in Ireland

The further and vocational education sector in Ireland has been perceived by some stakeholders as being less clearly defined and of lower status than higher education (ESRI, 2014). This echoes wider social norms but can also be seen as a reflection of the diversity of Further Education and Training (FET) in terms of the perceptions of current provision (O’Leary & Rami, 2016). This chapter sets out to identify the key milestones in the evolution of skills policy in Ireland, with an emphasis on intermediate skills and FET. The developments of the nineteenth century laid the tentative foundations for the modern FET sector, and were built upon in the early years after independence with the establishment of the VEC system. Further Education and Training in Ireland is not only about employability, it also espouses the key concept of lifelong learning. It is seen both in policy and structural terms as being one of the main pillars essential to the building and maintenance of a highly skilled work force operating within a knowledge society (Harper & Fox, Description of vocational education and training in ireland. Dublin: FÁS, 2003). Johnstone (Liberal ideals and vocational aims in university legal education: Web Journal of Current Legal Issues in association with Blackstone Press Ltd, 1999) argues that vocational education is in direct opposition to liberal education, in that the ultimate justification for education within the vocational paradigm is to prepare people for the world of work. Further education in the state is now placed within the tertiary education sector. Though the line between further and vocational education in Ireland has often been blurred, this chapter examines the influences, development, and changes in vocational and further education policy in Ireland since the inception of the Irish Free State in 1922 up to 2019. A special focus is paid to Ireland’s joining the EEC in 1973, and the subsequent significant influence of the EU through the European Structural Funds. The developments of the nineteenth century laid the tentative foundations for the modern FET sector, and were built upon in the early years after independence with the establishment of the VEC system. In particular, the European Union and the OECD, as well as the Troika in more recent times. The barriers to development were clearly located within the state. Catholic Church opposition in the early years of the VEC system thwarted its development, and prevented it from “achieving its full potential” (Girvin, From union to union—Nationalism, democracy and religion in Ireland—Act of Union to EU. Gill & Macmillan, 2002, p. 69). The neglect by the Department of Education until recent times was a further barrier and was in many ways a product of the low standing of FET within Irish society. The latter part of the chapter pays attention to the development of policy in recent years focusing on further and vocational education and training (with an emphasis on skills policy) and the launch of Ireland’s first Further Education and Training strategy (2014–2019).