Debate contribution: Further Education: Arts Sector
Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on .
- MLA
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 5 October 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Further Education: Arts Sector
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5774329
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for her question. Part of it potentially relates to our previous conversation about the contingency allocations that our further education colleges are working to this year in the absence of a Budget. Certainly, my hope is that we will have a better Budget settlement than that which was on the table previously and that we will be in the position to uplift the allocations. The work on the Further Education: Fit for the Future programme, particularly that on the curriculum framework, is not about telling colleges which courses they need to provide but about providing a framework within which they can work.
That is very much about aligning with the needs of the economy, as the Member reflected. Creative industries comprise one of our priority sectors, so it is important that we have people coming out with the skills that businesses and the broader sector need. The work is designed to support that outcome. If she wants to, I would be happy for the Member to correspond with me about the specific concerns that have been raised with her, so that we can investigate them with officials in the colleges.
194 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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