Speech by Mr. John McGuinness, T.D., Minister for Trade and Commerce at the FÁS Presentation of Advanced Certificates, South East Region

Monday 24^th November 2008

Director General, Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I was delighted to get the invitation to come here today. It is a pleasure to be here to celebrate your graduation as craftspeople.

There are a few occasions in our lives that are marked as special, and today is one of those days for you, the recipients of the Advanced Certificate.

You have completed a comprehensive apprenticeship that is recognised at home and abroad as one of the best in the world. An example of the standards achieved by apprentices during their apprenticeship was the success obtained by the Irish Team at the World Skills Competitions held in Shizuoka Japan, where the Irish team achieved gold, silver, and bronze awards. Also at the inaugural Euro Skills Competition held in Rotterdam this year, apprentice carpenter Jason Finn from Wexford was awarded a silver medal. This is a remarkable 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 have successfully completed your apprenticeship, are awarded the Advanced Certificate. The Social Partners have agreed, that to be recognised as a Craftsperson, the Advanced Certificate will be a compulsory requirement.

Shortly, I will present you with your Advanced Certificates. I do so with the satisfaction of knowing that you are receiving the just reward for the hard work you have put into acquiring and demonstrating the skills and competencies needed for your chosen career. This qualification, which is recognised throughout Ireland and in numerous other countries, will open many opportunities to you over the course of your working lives.

Before I do, can I say that this is not the end of your career development, but only the beginning. We have seen many changes take place with technology and approaches to work over the last few years. These changes are taking place so rapidly that, unless all of us keep ourselves updated there is a danger, that the skills we have acquired, will be outdated over a very short period of time. FÁS is fully compliant with the provisions of the National Framework of Qualifications and have a range of supports through the One Step Up initiative to assist you along the road of life long learning. In these challenging times it is essential that you maximise the utilisation of FÁS supports and indeed other state agencies to keep your skills up to date.

Your employers are very conscious of the constant need to ensure that their staff has the necessary skills to compete and survive in a demanding workplace. There are many opportunities for updating of skills through your Employers, Trade Unions, FÁS, The Department of Education and Science and private providers to aid you with skills updating where necessary.

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

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

ENDS/TC349