Employers in Tipperary – Have Your Say! Training & Development Needs research study
Tipperary Local Enterprise Office (LEO) and Tipperary Education and Training Board (ETB) are collaborating on an Employer Training and Support Needs Analysis. The primary objective of this study is to identify the issues facing SME clients in Tipperary, who are employing greater than 10 employees, with the goal of assisting in achieving the economic and enterprise objectives for the County set out in the Local Economic and Community Plan. This needs analysis which will take the form of an online Survey, workshops, telephone interviews and employer engagement is being conducted with the assistance of Marla Communications and is launching this week.
Employers are being asked to complete an on-line Survey, the purpose of which is to capture the needs employers have for supports and/or workforce development of staff, as well as their awareness of what Tipperary ETB and Local Enterprise Office offers. Both organisations are hopeful that this can be the start of on-going and meaningful engagement with employers in specific sectors in Tipperary .
Employer engagement is mentioned in key national strategies including the National Skills Strategy, the Government’s Action Plan for Education, the DJEI Action Plan for Jobs and the SOLAS Further Education and Training Strategy. Collaborating with employers to offer relevant education provision is also the main purpose of the DES Regional Skills Forums. Tipperary is represented on both the Mid-West and South East Regional Skills Forums.
This completion of this Survey by employers in the County will assist both organisations to plan effectively and respond as best they can to what is captured in the Survey.
Education and Training Boards (ETBs) are statutory authorities which have responsibility for education and training, youth work and a range of other statutory functions. ETBs manage and operate second-level schools, further education colleges, multi-faith community national schools and a range of adult and further education centres delivering education and training programmes. Further education and apprenticeship training is also provided through 16 training centres nationally. ETBs are active in local communities through the direct provision of training and education programmes delivered in centres, colleges and other training and educational settings. In this way, ETBs seek to make a real difference to the lives of the people they serve.
The role of the Local Enterprise Office is to support the small and micro-enterprise sector through the start-up and expansion phases. The LEOs are the principal deliverers of State support to the micro-enterprise sector in Ireland and they provide targeted supports – both financial and non-financial – to the small and micro-enterprise sector to enable businesses in that sector to grow and to create sustainable employment within their local area.
The LEOs are the Government’s ‘first-stop-shop’ through which all information on State supports for small and micro businesses can be accessed and where businesses with clear high growth potential can be fast-tracked to the next level of support from Enterprise Ireland. The LEOs operate as part of their respective Local Authority.