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THIRTY SECOND MEETING OF THE HIGHER AND
FURTHER EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE 1. Draft Minutes of Meeting held on 9 November 2000 Present: Dr E Birnie (Chairman) In Attendance: Mrs E Sung Apologies: Mr Hutchinson 1. Draft Minutes of Meeting held on 9 November 2000 Agreed as amended. Proposed: Joan Carson. Seconded: William Hay.
Agreed: To include the Committee response to DFP Committee (on the budget 2000/01, and the Programme for Government); and to the Minister (on Part-time Work Regulations), on the Committee’s website. 2. Matters Arising
Agreed: The Chairman’s meeting with the Chairman of the Education Committee, to address common interests as regards literacy and numeracy, should take part after the Committee’s evidence session with the Educational Guidance Service for Adults (on 23 November).
Agreed: The Department should be approached for advice on establishing a protocol which would enable Members to have advance notice of consultation documents to be issued by the Department – so that the Committee could, at an appropriately early stage, ask for sight of drafts.
Noted: The Chairman reported that at the invitation of NIHEC he had attended, on behalf of the Committee, a dinner for the academics who would be charged with selecting the NI research projects, of world class standard, which would attract SPUR support. They included experts from the Netherlands, France, Germany, as well as the UK, ranging over disciplines as diverse as physics, chemistry, political science, and history. NIHEC would be keen to give evidence to the Committee’s enquiry.
Agreed: To seek clarification on locus of responsibility for agricultural research carried out at QUB.
Noted: Twenty-first November debate of the Committee’s motion on Student Finance. 3. Enquiry into education and training for industry
Agreed: Individual firms were poorly represented in responses to date (only 1 out of 70 substantive responses) – the Committee wished to ensure they heard their views. Members passed to the Clerk details of individual firms to approach. If Committee staff or Assembly research could not properly accommodate the work, assistance (eg postgraduate student) should be urgently sought to analyse responses to the enquiry, in the light of the scale of interest and the detailed nature of many of the responses. The terms of reference are very broad, but should stand. The enquiry will be completed by spring 2001. A paper setting out the pros and cons of a study visit would be prepared. The Committee’s priorities for the enquiry are:
- Has incorporation worked? - How good are links between FECs? - How good are links between FECs and schools? - Should the Company Development Programme remain with IDB/DETI? - Too many private sector training providers? - Is something wrong at sub-degree (HND) level? Content, numbers, status? Pros and cons of the Foundation Model proposal?
Subjects to flag up but not consider in detail in this enquiry:
Subjects to suggest to other Statutory Committees:
Subjects which could be part of a future joint enquiry:
*Further reflection is required on whether R&D should form part of the current enquiry. 4. Forward Work Programme Agreed as drafted. 5. Matters Arising New Deal: Agreed that Members would raise, at the meeting on 23 November, any issues they wished to pursue in the light of the Minister’s response to Committee queries. Dr Birnie and Mr Dallat would accept the Minister’s invitation to attend the New Deal workshop at Cookstown on 30 November. Closed session issues: A briefing paper will be provided for the next meeting, on an issue raised by the Minister in closed session, and about which he has written to the Committee, concerning his conclusions. Date of Next Meeting: 2pm 23 November 2000.
Signed Esmond Birnie ESMOND BIRNIE |