SOLAS is the Further Education and Training Authority (FET) in Ireland. Mary has extensive experience as a researcher, lecturer and a skills development specialist in a range of education and industry settings. In recent years she has focused on national workforce development policy and strategic skills initiatives based on collaborative innovation by education and enterprise partners. The aim is to create both new upskilling and reskilling opportunities for employees at risk of displacement due to technological and market developments and to support SMEs to grow their business by developing an agile workforce.
An increasingly important aspect of her work is promoting further education and training as a key resource for enterprise upskilling and reskilling in the context of evolving industry needs. This includes the development of a micro-qualifications model which enables FET to target priority skills areas and digital transformation to make learning through FET more accessible and flexible for everyone. A suite of FET Micro-Qualifications in sustainability skills developed in collaboration with sectoral agencies and accredited by Quality and Qualifications Ireland in 2023, has commenced rollout by 16 Education and Training Boards across Ireland.