13 September 2000

MINISTERS UNVEIL NEW FOCUS ON BUSINESS-EDUCATION LINKS

The Minister for Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment, Dr Sean Farren MLA, and the Minister for Education, Martin McGuinness MP MLA, today launched the new Northern Ireland Business Education Partnership (NIBEP), a move which they described as "heralding a future of tremendous opportunity for young people and employers alike."

Well over 300 people from the worlds of education and business attended special events in Belfast and Derry to mark the launch. Speaking at the event in Belfast this morning, Dr Farren said: "Greater integration of economic and educational policy and more collaboration between business and education and training was one of the key messages Strategy 2010 challenged us all to bring about.

"Today's launch of NIBEP will help us to do just that. Their role will be to co-ordinate the wide range of business-education activities in schools and colleges throughout Northern Ireland and to act as a catalyst in bringing schools, colleges and businesses together through local partnerships.

"I particularly welcome the proposals within NIBEP's Business Plan to develop a wider range of business-education activities within the further education sector.

"The simple fact is that if we are to create a prosperous and inclusive society in Northern Ireland, we need to create opportunities, identify what our businesses need in terms of knowledge and skills and then make sure our young people can meet those needs and get the chance to seize the opportunities."

Mr McGuinness, who was also at the Belfast event, said: "Education and business cannot function independently of each other. Our schools produce the employees of the future so it is vital that our education system is geared to producing employees with the skills and disciplines that the economy needs. Indeed, greater understanding between the education and business sectors has made a significant contribution to the economic boom in the South of Ireland.

"However, to achieve this we must harness the expertise and support of the business sector to promote a successful interaction between education and the needs of the economy. This is where business-education partnerships have such an important role to play."

The Minister went on to say: "The Northern Ireland Business Education Partnership will also provide opportunities for employers to familiarise themselves with what the world of education can offer them. Recent changes in the curriculum, in the examination system and in the choice of routes, both academic and vocational, have been designed to try and meet both the needs and career aspirations of pupils and the demands of a modern and rapidly changing economy."

Chair of NIBEP, Steve Costello, emphasised the importance a joint approach from all stakeholders including employers, education policy makers, schools and colleges if NIBEP's business plan is to succeed. He stated that: "we at NIBEP realise that the targets for the five-fold expansion of business education activity proposed over the next three years are both challenging and ambitious."

To achieve these "tough" targets, he stressed that NIBEP will "adopt a radical approach, together with the provider bodies, our network of business education partnerships and other partners, and in doing so make our contribution to developing a peaceful and prosperous society that we can all share in equally."

In conclusion, the Ministers expressed their appreciation to Steve Costello for his clear and incisive leadership and wished NIBEP every success for the future.

 

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

NIBEP was established on a pilot basis in 1995 by the Training and Employment Agency and the Department of Education to promote and develop links between the education and business sectors in Northern Ireland. Since its establishment NIBEP has been successful in expanding the network of local business-education partnerships to cover the whole of Northern Ireland and in identifying and promoting priority areas of development within the sector.

The new NIBEP has been set up as a company limited by guarantee with a Board representing business and education stakeholders. It has been established in this way to enable it to attract funding from a range of sources, in addition to the core funding provided by the Departments.

The Board, which has recently been re-constituted, has been tasked with taking forward the development of business/education links in the context of Strategy 2010. The new Board will be chaired by Mr Steve Costello of Marks and Spencer, while NIBEP's Director will be Mr Brian Smart on secondment from the Training and Employment Agency.

For further information please contact Simon Burrowes on 028 9025 7831 or 07799 711524, or Jill Garrett on 028 9127 9356.