The Learning Workplace Empowering Young Workers in Ireland Today Lucy Fallon-Byrne Director, NCPP

‘ The knowledge society is a learning society’ - Andy Hargreaves

Learning in Ireland: Overview of the challenges Learning: A key priority of the National Workplace Strategy and Towards 2016 Recommendations for implementation in the National Workplace Strategy Experiences from the workplace (video)

The biggest challenge Does our education system 1.Promote a love of learning and develop learning skills for life ? 2.Develop the knowledge, skills and attributes for personal fulfilment and successful participation in a knowledge economy and society ?

‘ Education needs to reflect a vision of the future’ - Alvin Toffler

Learning in Ireland 17 th out of 22 OECD countries in number of expected hours spent in job-related training 20th out of 33 OECD countries in expenditure per student on education Ireland ranked 8 th out of EU15 in relation to lifelong learning 7 th in EU in terms of workers regarded as ‘highly skilled’ 9 th in terms of those aged between 2o-24 year-olds with at least upper second-level qualifications 80% of workforce in 2015 are currently in the workforce 30% of current workforce do not have a Leaving Certificate

National Workplace Strategy Strategic Priorities 1.Commitment to workplace innovation 2.Capacity for change 3.Developing future skills 4.Access to opportunities 5.Quality of working life

National Workplace Strategy: Recommendations Greater investment Key role of employers Personal Learning Accounts: Three-way commitment of resources from Government, employers and employees Detailed regional assessment of changing technology trends and skills requirements Cross-cutting approach between key Departments and Agencies Innovative ways of addressing barriers that exist for small business A new relationship between third-level institutions and the workplace National Training Fund to support a wider range of workplace training initiatives Broaden and develop enterprise-lead approaches e.g. Skillnets

Learning Organisations Organisations learn best when: There is a strong imperative to learn There is an ‘intendedness’ about the learning process The benefits are clear and translate into improved performance Learning is visible in the organisation and HR systems complement learning There is committed leadership and managers take responsibility for learning A collaborative work environment is fostered where individuals learn from each other Existing learning is used to best effect and the potential of informal learning is harnessed Links with accreditation and standards bodies are developed

To end…. Voices from the workplace talking about their experiences (Video)