The FET Professional Development Strategy 2017-19

Timeline

2016Approved/Agreed
2017Implementation
2018Implementation
2019Completed

ID number

28304

Background

A brief overview of the context and rationale of the policy development, explaining why it is implemented or why it is important.

The strategy stemmed from a commitment in the Further education and training (FET) strategy 2014-19, and reflected the strong links between the professional development of FET staff and the quality of the education and training they provide. It also reflected national and European policy, which places the professional competence of the workforce as central to the ability of FET to respond to the changing needs of employers and learners.

Education and training boards (ETBs) are statutory FET providers; they manage centres for FET and adult education and training throughout the country. There are 16 ETBs in Ireland.

Description

What/How/Who/For whom/When of the policy development in detail, explaining its activities and annual progress, main actors and target groups.

In November 2016, the 2017-19 FET professional development strategy was published by the Further Education and Training Authority (SOLAS) and the Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI). The strategy acknowledged that provision specific to the FET practitioner was not adequately addressed within the existing formal learning offer. It stated that in the period to 2019, the implementation of the strategy would include an examination of the feasibility of developing a suite of qualifications/modules for the FET learning practitioner that could be used at entry level and for skills updating. The strategy also provided for implementation actions which included establishing local and national continuing professional development (CPD) structures, coordination of CPD actions, CPD planning, relevance control, delivery method development, ensuring better access to CPD opportunities for part-time and occasional staff, increasing staff capability in the use of digital technology to enhance learning and staff reskilling and upskilling.

Funding channels were established. These included a plan for ETBs to receive dedicated funding for professional development activity, through the SOLAS-managed funding allocation process. SOLAS planed to establish a central FET professional development budget to fund the development of interventions to address strategic development needs at a national level; and a plan to establish a new professional development innovation fund as an enabler for joint action at national level and across groups of ETBs. Over the lifetime of the strategy, mechanisms were to be developed to enable the recording and tracking of professional development activities at individual, ETB and national level. Since 2015, SOLAS has also supported the ETBs n profiling the skills of teachers, tutors and trainers working in FET, including their qualifications. Skills profile is an IT-based tool to capture the necessary data and inform the overall CPD strategy that SOLAS and its partners are developing.

2016

Approved/Agreed

2017

Implementation

In 2017, within the framework of this strategy, a number of ETBs staff were trained to be able to identify their training needs within individual companies.

2018

Implementation

2019

Completed

In 2019, a national FET co-ordinator for professional development was appointed in ETBI and is collaborating with SOLAS, ETBs, and the national steering group on implementation of the FET CPD strategy. Working groups have been established or planned for staff development plans, quality assurance, leadership and management (ETBI).

The work on the new strategy started.

Bodies responsible

This section lists main bodies that are responsible for the implementation of the policy development or for its specific parts or activities, as indicated in the regulatory acts. The responsibilities are usually explained in its description.

Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI)

Target groups

Those who are positively and directly affected by the measures of the policy development; those on the list are specifically defined in the EU VET policy documents. A policy development can be addressed to one or several target groups.

Education professionals

Teachers
Trainers
Adult educators

Entities providing VET

VET providers (all kinds)

Thematic categories

Thematic categories capture main aspects of the decision-making and operation of national VET and LLL systems. These broad areas represent key elements that all VET and LLL systems have to different extents and in different combinations, and which come into focus depending on the EU and national priorities. Thematic categories are further divided into thematic sub-categories. Based on their description, policy developments can be assigned to one or several thematic categories.

Teachers, trainers and school leaders competences

Competent and motivated VET teachers in schools and trainers in companies are crucial to VET becoming innovative and relevant, agile, resilient, flexible, inclusive and lifelong.

This thematic category comprises policies and practices of initial training and continuing professional development approaches in a systemic and systematic manner. It also looks at measures aiming to update (entry) requirements and make teaching and training careers attractive and bring more young and talented individuals and business professionals into teaching and training. Supporting VET educators by equipping them with adequate competences, skills and tools for the green transition and digital teaching and learning are addressed in separate thematic sub-categories.

The measures in this category target teachers and school leaders, company trainers and mentors, adult educators and guidance practitioners.

Systematic approaches to and opportunities for initial and continuous professional development of school leaders, teachers and trainers

This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of initial and continuing professional development (CPD) for VET educators who work in vocational schools and in companies providing VET. VET educators include teachers and school leaders, trainers and company managers involved in VET, as well as adult educators and guidance practitioners – those who work in school- and work-based settings. The thematic sub-category includes national strategies, training programmes or individual courses to address the learning needs of VET educators and to develop their vocational (technical) skills, and pedagogical (teaching) skills and competences. Such programmes concern state-of-the-art vocational pedagogy, innovative teaching methods, and competences needed to address evolving teaching environments, e.g. teaching in multicultural settings, working with learners at risk of early leaving, etc.

Supporting teachers and trainers for and through digital

This thematic sub-category is in line with the EU policy focus on the digital transition, and refers to professional development and other measures to prepare and support teachers and trainers in teaching their learners digital skills and competences. It also covers measures and support for them to increase their own digital skills and competences, including for teaching in virtual environments, working with digital tools and applying digital pedagogies. Emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic also fall into this sub-category.

Subsystem

Part of the vocational education and training and lifelong learning systems the policy development applies to.

IVET

CVET

Country

Ireland

Type of development

Policy developments are divided into three types: strategy/action plan; regulation/legislation; and practical measure/initiative.

Strategy/Action plan

Cite as

Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). The FET Professional Development Strategy 2017-19: Ireland. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].

https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/el/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28304

Timeline of VET policies in Europe