Ministers Welcome Alan Johnston To Northern Ireland

The Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, and the Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane, welcomed the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Alan Johnson to Parliament Buildings.

Welcoming Mr Johnston, Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey said: “I appreciate that the Minister has taken the time to visit us and it is my very great pleasure to welcome him here to Northern Ireland.”

Speaking on their meeting, Sir Reg said: “This meeting with Alan provides a wonderful opportunity to foster closer working relationship between the administrations, to hear first hand of recent developments in the UK, and to build on the already productive relationship that exists between officials from the Department for Employment and Skills and their Northern Ireland counterparts.”

Education Minister Caitríona Ruane said: “With the return of the institutions, we are now able to focus on improving educational opportunities for all of our young people. To do this, we must learn and work with all the administrations on these islands, on both a north-south and east-west basis, for the good of our learners. I am looking forward to working with Sir Reg to ensure we give our young people the best education to prepare them for their future.

“I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with Mr Johnson today and explore how we can identify best practice to help us improve the opportunities available to our children and young people.”

Sir Reg continued: “In the coming months I look forward to working alongside Alan and my other ministerial colleagues. The higher education sector in Northern Ireland is integral to the wider UK sector, and at this exciting time in Northern Ireland’s history, closer collaboration between the administrations has never been of greater importance.”

Commenting on Northern Ireland’s position and future within the UK Higher Education system, Sir Reg went on to say:

“Northern Ireland’s further and higher education systems enjoy a strong UK-wide reputation. In order to maintain that position we need to avail of every opportunity to work more closely with our counterparts outside of Northern Ireland, in order to learn from, and benchmark, what we are doing in relation to their experiences.

“We need to keep making the right connections between the education system and the world of work, to ensure that the skills needs of the economy are addressed both now and in the future.”

(CD/SP)