Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry today welcomed the results of a report which investigated the economic impact of Northern Ireland’s Further Education (FE) sector on the economy.
~ Tuesday, 12 January 2016
The Department for Employment and Learning commissioned report’s aim was to assess the economic impact of the Further Education colleges as businesses and the FE sector as an industry.
The Minister said: “A competitive further education sector is an intrinsic component of any modern knowledge economy, and the economic impact of our further education colleges in Northern Ireland is a positive and valuable one as demonstrated in this report.
“The sector contributes in a number of positive ways to our economy including the provision of education, skills and qualifications to nearly 130,000 people across Northern Ireland.
“The report indicates that the further education sector also contributes additional benefits to the economy as an industry in its own right, generating over £524million of output in Northern Ireland and 7,139 full time equivalent jobs.
“The sector goes beyond providing a skilled workforce: it also leaves a significant footprint on our economy as an industry in terms of job creation and wealth generation.
“The new Further Education Strategy for NI, ‘Further Education Means Success’, published today, sets out the future direction of further education in Northern Ireland, providing a huge opportunity to drive further positive economic change, promote individual opportunity and achieve greater social cohesion.“
The Economic Impact of Northern Ireland’s FE Sector on the Economy report, undertaken by Viewforth Consulting on behalf of the Department, and research agenda and info graphic are available on DELNI.
