Debate contribution: Skills Gaps between Young People and Businesses

Debate contribution by Mrs Michelle Guy on 30 September 2025.

MLA

Mrs Michelle Guy

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

30 September 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Skills Gaps between Young People and Businesses

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5142949

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I really love this motion. It has ambition, it seeks to emulate best practice, and it is focused on giving young people hope and opportunity and, in some circumstances, a reason to stay in Northern Ireland. That speaks to me both as a parent and as an elected representative. When asked what motivates me to be in politics, my answer is often that I want Northern Ireland to be a place that my kids do not have to leave to be successful. To realise that ambition, we need exciting, dynamic and innovative educational and training opportunities that cater for different aptitudes and interests of learners, matched to the needs of businesses and critical public services, such as healthcare. Right now, those opportunities simply are not there in the way that we would like, and I caution against anyone seeking to demonise young people as lazy or unmotivated when the pathways to succeed simply are so limited. I especially want to highlight, as others have done, young people with special educational needs and disabilities, who often need extra support to realise their potential. Right now, they have limited opportunities available. Northern Ireland continues to have the largest disability employment gap of all the regions across the United Kingdom. The latest figures report that the employment rate for disabled people in Northern Ireland is 38·3%, while the rate for those without a disability is 85·9%. Addressing the needs of those young people must be central to any approach, and I echo the recognition of Alma White and her work on Caleb's Cause, which highlights the neglect of our post-19 SEN young people. The motion recognises that some great work has happened in linking business investment with skills development. We have seen that through the skills academies, for example. However, every Member, when we go into local businesses, will hear that we have huge skills gaps that are stifling growth. When we take that fact and set it beside the fact that we have 25,000 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training, we have to see that for what it is, a red flag telling us that we need to do something different if we are to meet this challenge. It has never been more important to get the structures right around skills development. Things are changing so fundamentally with AI that it is impossible for government, which reacts slowly, to respond quickly enough to the needs of businesses and other industries. That is why the motion proposes a talent development agency to emulate Skillnet in the South. We have a huge number of innovative businesses that want to develop staff. They want to build skills and expand, however they need support to link with our training providers. We have also, time and again, talked about the need for parity of esteem between schools, further education and higher education. We need collaboration, not siloed working as we have now. That vision is driven by the top at ministerial level. The independent review of education provided clear recommendations for how that could be done and a vision of what could be achieved. For example, that report spoke of young people from the age of 14 onwards being able to participate in a wide range of education pathways, including vocational and technical education, and work-based learning. That requires collaboration between education providers and workplaces of all kinds. There are examples of that happening across Northern Ireland. Recently, David and I visited local manufacturing company Leprino in Magheralin, and we saw how it is bringing together young people through vocational opportunities, such as apprenticeships, as well as offering placements to university undergraduates and upskilling existing staff members to ensure that they have right mix of skills and experience to meet its business need. Not all businesses are at the scale to provide such a range of opportunities, so our version of the Skillnet model can provide a vital role, matching the needs of SMEs with trainees seeking employment opportunities or opportunities to learn. Seeking to leverage opportunities across the island of Ireland is a no-brainer, and we have spoken repeatedly about the need to work on a cross-border basis, especially in further and higher education. That will continue.

The SDLP amendment effectively removes the central tenet of the motion, which is a call on our Economy Minister to take focused action and establish a local agency here. There is nothing in our motion that would stop a talent development agency working in partnership with Skillnet Ireland. We would, of course, expect nothing else. We would also expect the talent development agency to work in partnership with similar organisations in Scotland, Wales and England. I hope that Members across the Chamber embrace the vision of the motion today. I worked in the private sector here for years in the technology sector, and I know the talent and vision of our business leaders, who are capable and eager to expand our economy. However, government must act as an enabler. Developing skills is essential and must be a shared aspiration for us all.

No problem. Thank you.

850 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:16 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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