Kildare ETB participates in historic France-Ireland Symposium on Vocational Education

More than 80 participants from 15 French academic regions and 15 Irish Education and Training boards came together over four days to reinforce the links between  France and Ireland in the field of Further Education and Training and increase the  mobility of Irish and French students and staff from Colleges of Further Education or  Training Centres.  

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Occitanie Academic  Region and City of Dublin Education and Training Board, on June 4 at the French  Residence, marks the first step towards stronger and deeper cooperation.  

Speaking at the signing, French Ambassador to Ireland, H.E M. Vincent Guérend said, “The links that unite France and Ireland are particularly strong in the field of education. For  example, France is the #1 partner of Ireland within the Erasmus+ program. However, this  source of opportunities and funding and is still very new to the students and staff from the  Vocational Education Sector. With this signature, CDETB and Occitanie academic region are  leading the way in strengthening cooperation in the field of vocational education training,  further accelerating exchanges and strengthening ties between our two countries.”  

William Beausang, Assistant Secretary General with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Skills said of the event "Ireland and France agreed a Joint Plan of Action (2021-2025) to strengthen and deepen relations between the two countries across a range of cultural, educational, and political activities including  strengthening education and research links. We welcome the signing of the Memorandum of  Understanding between the rectorate of the Occitanie region of France and City of Dublin  Education and Training Board, which extends our excellent partnership and supports the  achievement of the aims of the Joint Plan of Action." 

Through this 4-day event, the aim of this Symposium on Vocational Education Training is to offer participants a better understanding of each other’s vocational training systems and  to provide an opportunity to reflect on cooperation opportunities through workshops,  presentations, networking sessions and field visits all over Ireland. It is composed of senior  members of the Irish Ministry of Further and Higher Education, the French Ministry of  Education, ETB Chief Executives, Directors of Further Education and Training and staff,  French directors and international relations advisers from the various academic regions.  

Paddy Lavelle, General Secretary of Education and Training Boards Ireland speaking at the  launch of the event in The Residence of The French Ambassador to Ireland extended a warm  welcome to guests from across the breadth of the FET Sector in France and Ireland and Education and Training Boards Ireland highlighted the opportunity the event brings. He said, “We are privileged to have several key voices who will share their knowledge, expertise, and personal learning experiences today  facilitating the sharing of knowledge and expertise within the sector and promoting  engagement on strengthening bilateral cooperation in the field of vocational education and training."

The Franco-Irish dynamic supporting vocational training will provide an opportunity for  cross-country engagement showcasing innovation and collaboration. The aim will be to bring  together French education authorities and Irish Education and Training Boards to initiate  partnerships and explore areas of cooperation as part of European and international  expansion. 

In order to develop student and staff mobility within this sector and ensure that participants  all have different points of contact from which to develop exchanges, ETBI and the French  Embassy have identified matchings between academic regions and ETBs, based on their  priority vocational domains or pre-existing links. Based on these partnerships, the French  academic regions will visit different parts of Ireland with their counterparts on the June 6 and 7. 

In 2022, the signing of the Declaration of Intent between the French Minister for  Education and the Irish Minister for Vocational Training on strengthening bilateral  cooperation in the field of vocational education and training gave impetus to cooperation at  the level of French education authorities and Irish Education Training Boards (ETBs).