The Ministers for Education and Training and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD and Ciarán Cannon TD, have announced the second phase of the ICT graduate skills conversion programme.
Under the new phase, 760 new places are being made available on 15 individual programmes in higher education institutions.
n March of last year, the first phase of the programme saw more than 700 free places on ICT graduate conversion programmes, designed and delivered in partnership with industry. The majority of participants from the first phase are currently completing work placements, according to the Government, and will be available for employment over the coming months.
This Government is committed to increasing the supply of high level ICT skills and to supporting jobseekers into employment by providing opportunities for graduates from other disciplines to re-skill for the expanding employment opportunities in the ICT area," said Minister Quinn.
These programmes are fully funded by the Department and no fees are charged to participants," said Minister Cannon. "Each course participant also undertakes a work placement of three to six months with an industry partner. This ensures the courses not only lead to an honours level degree in computer science, but graduates will also get significant work experience in some of the best ICT and other leading edge companies we have."
The 760 additional places bring to almost 6,000 the number of higher education places that the DES has provided on ICT re-skilling programmes since 2011.
Courses are free, full-time and intensive. Applicants must have already have a level 8 (honours degree) or equivalent qualification. The courses are aimed particularly at the unemployed.
Building a sustainable talent base of high level skills for the ICT sector and other sectors is of strategic economic importance to Ireland," said Una Halligan, chair, Expert Group on Future Skills Needs. "I very much welcome the provision of these places on the second phase of the ICT Skills Conversion Programme. This is a win-win programme – providing an additional supply of ICT professionals aligned to ICT skills needs in businesses as identified by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and Forfás, and an opportunity for qualified job seekers to convert to a sector with rewarding career prospects."
The announcement has been welcomed by the ICT industry.
"The technology sector in Ireland is thriving. In the past three years over 13,700 jobs have been announced by the sector," said Paul Sweetman, ICT Ireland. "With the top 10 global technology companies having a significant presence here and a substantial indigenous software sector, Ireland continues to be a powerhouse for technology.
"With this growth comes demand for skilled, innovative graduates and employees. To address this demand, ICT Ireland and ISA members worked closely with government departments to develop the ICT Action Plan. The conversion courses announced today represent the latest iteration of the ICT Action Plan. All of the course announced have a significant level of industry involvement, be it though the development of the programmes and/or industry placement as part of the course."
"As chairman of the Board European Tech Cluster," said Denis Collins, IBM Ireland, "I applaud Ministers Quinn and Cannon on this initiative and believe they are moving in the right direction to position required skills for the IT Industry. The European Tech Cluster ‘Adopt A School Program’ aligns well with this initiative and we will insure there is tight integration. This is a great start, with much more to do across a balance of all levels of education, current workforce, and driving the right level of outside EU talent."
"There is intense competition for IT talent globally—to compete globally, Ireland Inc must drive strong, collaborative leadership across industry, government, public sector, and academia.
"If we do this right, we can position Ireland Inc as a globally recognised, pedigree IT Hub/Cluster. This will have significant impact on our children’s future to be competitive, achieve high calibre prospects, as well as up-skill current workforce to be competitive for open positions."
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