Education of women in the workplace is key to economic recovery

An Ireland where all women enjoy equality with men and can achieve their full potential while enjoying a safe and fulfilling life – National Women’s Strategy 2007-2016.

The Women at Work Skillnet believes that, with women playing a much larger role in the workforce in Ireland, the key to economic recovery will be dependent on the up-skilling and education of women. 

On International Women’s day, the Women at Work Skillnet is highlighting that all experts agree that the sectors of the economy which are most likely to contribute to bringing Ireland out of recession are those which will be dominated by female workers in the future. As such, more focus and resources should be given to developing the skills of female workers in order to make the overall economy more competitive. 

This unique Skillnet was formed in 2008 and is spearheaded by five trade unions, the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU), IBOA – The Finance Union, IMPACT, MANDATE and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) whose combined membership of women working in the private sector in Ireland is in the region of 60,000. The network is supported by a cross section of employers and policy advisors who are active participants on the steering group. 

The Skillnet identified an increasing demand for the training and development needs of women at work, primarily in the retail, financial services, communications and healthcare sectors.

Aileen Morrissey, MANDATE Trade Union’s National Coordinator of Training said that the purpose of the Skillnet is: 'to up-skill women to enable them to optimise their full potential in their working lives. This aim is met by giving participants an ideal opportunity to enhance their skills through professional training and development courses. During the past 24 months we have seen genuine progress in the workplace for women. However, we need to build on the successful training framework of the past and continue to make relevant, quality and diverse training available for free to our members, so they can achieve full potential in their working lives.'

'During the two year period of Women at Work Skillnet, demand for training has been at an all time high - despite the economic turmoil and recession - with many programmes having waiting lists, and members progressing to higher level programmes. The primary training programmes delivered were in the area of Interpersonal Communication Skills, Executive Development IT Skills, Social and Language Skills.

'In the context of the current economic environment, these training programmes have increased the adaptability of women workers in the knowledge economy, especially in terms of supporting women members to adapt to technological change and to develop basic ICT literacy skills. In Ireland, competitive advantage is increasingly dominated by knowledge, both in the form of intellectual property and also in terms of what individuals and groups of employees know and how they carry out their jobs,' said Ms Morrissey.

Ms Joan Gaffney, MANDATE member and retail worker participated on one of the FETAC level 4 Communications Training Courses from September to November 2009. Ms Gaffney says that the training course was a fantastic opportunity for her to avail of training. 

'It was amazing to go from one stage of education and then having reared a family to be able to re-enter adult education.  It has opened the door for me as confidence is a keystone in every aspect of my life. I feel my employer has benefited greatly from this training. The best thing about the Women at Work Skillnet training was that it was women based, it was free, it was held in the evenings which suited my working life and there were exceptional tutors. They took into consideration the age profile of the participants and brought us along slowly at the beginning and then accelerated when we got comfortable in an educational environment.'

The Women at Work Skillnet undertook rigorous evaluation of each of its training programmes, and feedback on the quality of the training has been ranked very highly by the companies and training participants.

'The feedback has been excellent and very rewarding,' says Alacoque McMenamin, manager of the network. 'We have also had a demand for more and more training. We hope that in the future we can continue to help develop the vast array of knowledge, skills and competencies that will be required of women workers as we move into a brighter and ever more demanding future.'

The network also point to the fact that economists indicate that women are strongly increasing their share in professional, associate professional and management occupations. By 2012, women are forecast to form the majority of business, financial and legal professionals, and the proportion of managers who are women will almost reach the proportion of women in the workforce as a whole.

The ESRI says, 'the highest employment growth is occurring in service industries, which have a greater proportion of skilled workers. Meanwhile, within the fastest growing sectors we’re seeing increased professionalisation, with more jobs requiring high-level qualifications.'

These trends, though predicted before the recession, are still taking place just not at the same growth rate as expected and the Women at Work Skillnet is uniquely placed within industry to meet needs and assist continuation of these trends for Women workers.

The key to the Women at Work Skillnets’ success is that the network has been used as a source of intelligence – helping members to respond to constant change and development requirements; being aware of the business environment and assisting enterprise members to respond positively by enabling women workers to attain the knowledge, skills and competencies to survive in very challenging times.

The Women at Work Skillnet is match funded by the five trade unions, who provide the training for free to their members, and the Training Networks Programme, an initiative of Skillnets Ltd. funded from the National Training Fund through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Skillnets is an enterprise-led support body whose mission is to enhance the skills of people in employment in Irish industry to support competitiveness and employability.