Comments by Minister Killeen, at the National Craft Certificate Presentations

Friday 13^th October 2006

Good afternoon, Director General, Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am very pleased to be with you to today to celebrate the graduation of newly qualified craftspeople, who will be awarded with the coveted National Craft Certificate. Today is a very special day when we can commemorate both the hard work and dedication of the graduates themselves and the commitment demonstrated by their instructors and employers in developing the skills that are so vitally needed in our economy.

You have completed a comprehensive apprenticeship that is recognised at home and abroad as one of the best in the world. The high standards achieved by Irish apprentices was demonstrated by the outstanding success of the Irish Team at the World Skills Competition in Helsinki in Finland last May. There, young people like you, competed with apprentices from all over the World. Their efforts as a team ensured an extremely remarkable result resulting in Ireland being ranked 7^th in the World. This was a tremendous achievement and it proves beyond doubt that our apprenticeship system and our apprentices are among the best in the world.

One of the most important features of the apprenticeship is that the attainment of agreed standards is now compulsory for all apprentices and each of you, who has successfully completed your apprenticeship, is awarded the National Craft Certificate.

Shortly, I will present you with your National Craft Certificates and I do so with the certainty that each of you has a bright future ahead in your chosen career. You embark on your careers at an unrivalled time in Ireland’s economic development and this will provide you with employment opportunities that were unimaginable by previous generations of Irish workers.

The Government are pleased that the latest labour market statistics show that the strong momentum of the past few years has been maintained in 2006. Employment has continued to increase this year and for the first time in our history we now have over 2 million jobs in our economy. 263,000 of these jobs are in the construction sector, which has seen an 8% growth in employment on the previous year.

The Mid-West has benefited significantly from this growth, with employment here increasing to 174,000 people. Over the year, employment in the Mid West grew by 6.3% compared to a national average of 4.6%.

We also have one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the country. This stands at 3.9% in the Mid–West, compared to 4.3% nationally or nearly 9% in the EU.

Ireland’s future economic outlook is positive, with output expected to grow by 5% both this year and next and this will boost employment even further.

Against this economic backdrop, I can safely say the skills acquired by graduates here today are, and will be, in much demand. I want to emphasise though that while this is the end of one phase of your education and training, it is also the beginning of the next stage. We have seen many changes in technology and approaches to work over the last few years. These changes are taking place so rapidly that, unless we consistently travel the road of life long learning, there is a danger that the skills we have acquired will be outdated within a very short period of time.

Your employers are very conscious of the constant need to ensure that you - their employees - have the necessary skills to compete and survive in a demanding workplace. There are many opportunities for updating your skills and knowledge with support from your employers, trade unions, FÁS, the Institutes of Technology, Universities and private providers.

Learning is for life and I would encourage each of you to think about your future needs and ambitions, formulate a plan and seek assistance from the bodies mentioned who can help you with your on going career development.

Finally I congratulate each and every one of you and wish you success in your chosen career.

ENDS/ LA211