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position for this project in Kilkenny. The Department and I are prepared to continue to work collaboratively with Kilkenny and Carlow ETB via SOLAS to advance this ambition. Capital investment is a key priority for the Department, and I recognise fully the importance of developing, enhancing and supporting … assure Deputy Cleere it is the intent of the Department to move as quickly as possible with all of the FET colleges. I have been to Carlow already and I will visit Kilkenny in the near future, within the next few months and this is a promise

much for the learners, staff, and the community of Kilkenny and Carlow ETB. In 2022, the Government announced that Kilkenny had been chosen as one of the locations to develop a further education and training college of the future. It is not ideal at the moment that further … launched Carlow Institute of Further Education and Training, which has been a tremendous success, with more than 1,000 students. For Kilkenny city and county to be at the stage it is at now marks an important step forward in the delivery of the college campus

done urgently. Everybody in Carlow and Kilkenny ETB is excited for all of the current and future FET learners in the locality. With one in ten adults in Ireland now learning through FET or apprenticeships, the ongoing development of high-quality college environments is absolutely key, especially … will play a critical role in meeting the increasing demand for upskilling in our communities. The capital infrastructure announcement for the Kilkenny college of the future is a milestone moment for FET in the south east. It will drive access to education, lifelong learning and workforce transformation

said, is not just another bricks-and-mortar project. It is a strategic investment to deliver an integrated further education and training college for Kilkenny which addresses historical infrastructure deficits and drives the reform we have committed to across the FET sector. As the Deputy told … been scattered around 15 different locations. It should not matter where people live. This proposal aims to and will change that. Kilkenny and Carlow ETB proposes to deliver a flagship facility designed for approximately 1,000 full-time learners and 3,800 part-time learners. The campus will

with that practice and in the private sector long term. However, if a student is placed, for example, in a local facility in Carlow, Kildare or wherever it happens to be, they are more likely to stay there. It is critical that during their training students are exposed … difficult and stressful environments in which to work. We need to encourage our graduates to go into those sectors when they leave college. I agree with the Deputy that we also need focus on retention measures