An Education In Ict Including The Excluded Edulearn 09

An Education in ICT: Including the Excluded DEIRDRE KELLEHER EDULEARN09, Barcelona, Spain 6 July 2009

Introduction

● Importance of education and skills emphasised

● Barriers experienced by marginalised groups numerous

● FIT (Fastrack to Information Technology) Ltd. – assisting marginalised break barriers

● FIT: an example of a best practice contribution to the education field in terms of creating a link between industry/ICT skill needs; training provision and helping marginalised job seekers overcome poverty and social exclusion

Barriers to Learning

Poverty traps make it difficult for marginalised groups to participate in education & training

Social, economic and political structures contribute to reproducing disadvantage

The Importance of Education & Training

Education can be an important option for the unemployed

Education has a crucial part to play in ensuring people have the skills needed to work in particular sectors

FIT (Fastrack to IT) Ltd.

A precursor when it comes to providing marginalised job seekers with an education which gives them a chance to gain employment or go on to further education/training

An industry initiative involving major companies

25 ICT courses developed to date – responsive to skill needs and personal and professional development

Over 6,500 people trained since 1999

FIT: The Target Group

The FIT Initiative targets marginalised job seekers defined as:

individuals on the live register,

young early school-leavers (under 18),

individuals living in the family home who do not qualify for Unemployment Benefit payments,

individuals living in households where income is above the means test threshold of Unemployment Assistance,

women working in the home for long periods wishing to return to employment,

lone-parents,

individuals on disability payments,

migrant job seekers

and other individuals that find themselves distant from the labour market.

The FIT Model

The mission of FIT is to meet the recruitment needs of industry in the area of IT, through providing training, support and career opportunities for unemployed people, so that they can achieve their true potential and contribute to the Irish economy .

Providing a link between technology, training and disadvantage

Technical and soft skills to gain employment or pursue further education

The FIT Model & the Employability Pathway E Job Placement Internships Advanced IT Skills Industry-led projects for the low skilled Company led ICT Skilling and Training for the low skilled Access to Content and Curriculum Access to technology opportunities: software and hardware Assessment of labour market needs

Have learning & employment barriers broken?

Two FIT Graduate Surveys conducted during 2008:

to determine how participants have progressed since completing their courses;

to see how many have moved on to further education and training and into employment;

to profile the circumstances of participants prior to commencing their course.

FIT Survey 1 Results Outcomes Survey 1 - 1999 to 2005 Employed, 63.6% Self-employed, 2.4% Unemployed, 17.0% Unable to Work, 3.0% Working in the Home, 2.4% Further Ed, 10.3% Retired, 1.3% Employed Unemployed Further Education Self-employed Unable to Work Working in the Home Retired

FIT Survey 2 Results Outcomes Survey 2 - 2005 to 2007 Self-employed 2.2% Further Education 19% Unable to Work 7% Employed 41.5% Unemployed 21.8% Working in the Home 8.5% Employed Unemployed Further Education Self-employed Unable to Work Working in the Home

FIT Combined Survey Results

Profile of Participants Profile of Participants Survey 1 Unsure 15% 6 Months 23.3% 9 Months 3.5% 1 Year 23.3% 2 Years 19.8% 3 Years or More 15.1% Unsure 6 Months 9 Months 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years or More

FIT & ICT Innovation