The Council of Trade Unions released a discussion document last week for the forthcoming government Jobs Summit (27 February). The document focuses on stimulating the economy, retaining jobs and worker transition, including support for those made redundant. It has some important recommendations and suggestions for the tertiary sector, including offering training subsidies and support for other options as alternatives to redundancy. It notes:

“There is a clear role for the tertiary education sector during this crisis. This sector has the capacity, if well-funded, to move people into new jobs and to move our economy into new and sustainable territory. Specific consideration needs to be given to the role of tertiary education institutions in this context. For instance, some TEIs already have the infrastructure in place to expand provision.”

Then proposes:

“…the establishment of a Skills Fund as part of an integrated infrastructure package. It would complement existing spending on tertiary education (including industry training, and literacy programmes) by focussing more on what could be done to accelerate the modernisation of skills, boost even further the uptake of industry training and would also link into the retraining and active labour market measures discussed below.”