Lyttle fear about budget creating skills deficit

Alliance Employment and Learning Spokesperson Chris Lyttle MLA has expressed serious concerns that the DEL budget cuts will create a skills deficit which will prevent Northern Ireland from reaching its economic potential and securing new high value jobs. His comments come after he attended the Employment and Learning Committee today at which the Minister Danny Kennedy took questions on the DEL budget.

Chris Lyttle MLA said: “There’s appears to be no joined-up economic strategy coming from DEL and DETI on skills and job creation. The link between higher education, skills and employment is an important one, and is one which helps drive our economy

“The key to economic recovery is ensuring that people are equipped with the skills necessary to take up jobs and to demonstrate to investors that we have skillset to match their needs.

“We have an economic sub-group at Stormont, and they should be finding ways to ensure co-ordinated investment in both skills and job creation.

“Given that skills and innovation are two of the four economic drivers, we need to see joined up economic strategy between DEL and the other departments which are important to economic development.

“How can we make creating jobs our top priority if we are not equipping our people with the skills needed to take them up? The proposed ending of funding for adult apprenticeships is also another area of concern within these proposals.”

ENDS