ETB/SOLAS Programme Board Meeting

18thJanuary 2017

Minutes

Attending: Board
Sean Ó Foghlú / Secretary General / DES - Chair
Ruth Carmody / Assistant Secretary / DES
Michael Moriarty / General Secretary / DES
David Leahy / Chief Executive / Galway and Roscommon ETB
Paul O’Toole / Chief Executive / SOLAS
Paddy Lavelle / Chief Executive / Dublin and Dun Laoghaire ETB
Hubert Loftus / Principal Officer / DES
Phil O’Flaherty / Principal Officer / DES
Ann Fitzpatrick / ETB/SOLAS Programme Manager / DES
Marion Edwards / Shared Service Advisor / DES
Grainne Cullen / PSR Programme Manager / DES
Michael Morgan / Project Manager / Finance Shared Service Project
Annette Shirley / HEO / DES
Apologies
Kevin McCarthy / Assistant Secretary / DES
Peter Baldwin / Assistant Secretary / DES
Martin Hanevy / Assistant Secretary / DES
Michael Keogh / Assistant Secretary / DES

Introductions

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

  1. Minutes of meeting of 27th July 2016

The minutes of the meeting of the 27th July were agreed.

  1. ETB/SOLAS Programme Plan – Progress Report
  1. Education Shared Business Services (ESBS) Payroll for ETB Sector:

The team, having met with OGP in December, are preparing the final stages of the RFT before it issues and are due to review with CSSO this month. The target is to get agreement by month end. The Head of ESBS, Michael Lenihan, has been appointed, and the contract is due to issue for the Shared Service Payroll Project Manager. A project timeline is included in the draft RFT and the Project Manager will forward this to the Programme Board. Negotiations are ongoing betweenOPW and the Landlord’s agents to secure space for the ESBS centre location but it is envisage that the leasewill issue this quarter.

  1. Education Shared Business Services (ESBS) Financefor ETB Sector:

A meeting is to take place on the 24th January 2017 with the OGCIO Peer Review Group to review the Finance Shared Service Business Case. A detailed project plan has been prepared and shared with the project Steering Group. The ‘as is’ processes have been completed with the ‘to be’ process maps currently being drafted. Expressions of Interest have been issued for the Process Team/Transition Leads and the Programme Board noted the importance of ensuring the EOI issued to sectoral staff in advance of the 26thJanuary closing date.

Interim Measures: Phase 2 of e-invoicing is almost complete and the next phase is to introduce new suppliers. Kildare/Wicklow ETB and Kerry ETB are due to roll out purchasing cards and an ETB subgroup has been established to examine the requirements for a Trainee Payments system for the sector to replace TAPS.

The Chair noted the progress made on both shared service projects and the impact the interim measures are having in alleviating the pressures on the finance areas in the lead up to a permanent solution. As a result of the experience gained from the payroll project it is envisaged the finance project will progress at a greater rate and therefore efforts will be required to manage the projects to ensure alignment.

  1. Legal Services

A Legal Service Support Manager has been appointed in ETBI and the recruitment of a Grade3/Grade 5 for the Legal Service Support Unit is currently in progress. ETBI and DES will fund the unit and a review will be carried out in 18 months. The project has closed but the Legal Services Unit will continue to report to the PMO on progress through the Legal Strategy Management Group.

  1. Quality Assurance

A joint ETBI QQI QA Implementation Plan has been agreed and development work is continuing on a new Sectoral Governance Model and Procedures. The Further Education Support Service has commenced work on a draft Action Plan for implementation of QQI New Validation Policy and Criteria. A working group has been established to scope the Development of Sectoral Assessment Handbook/Regulations. ETBI/SOLAS welcomed the work on the QA project and pointed out the need to have structures in place for the QA element around apprenticeships due to greater funding being invested in this area.

  1. Manser Payroll Merges

Mayo/Sligo/Leitrim ETB and Tipperary ETB merged their payroll and finance systemsat the end of December 2016 and this project has closed. From January 2017 all 16 ETBs will be running a single payroll and finance system within their ETBs.

  1. Other Projects

Updates were provided on the progress of the remaining programme projects including the establishing of an ETB ICT Steering Group to support the ETBs implementing the ETB ICT Strategy. The value of the Interim Change Control Process was noted and it’s role to manage system change requests in the lead up to shared services. The PMO is also reviewing the draft on the types and occurrences of requests to ETBs from DES, SOLAS, QQI.

The ETBI Programme Change Manager will oversee the implementation of the Programme Level Change Management Plan. The ETBI General Secretary noted that the ETBI Strategy has now been finalised and an Implementation Plan is in place.

DES requested that afinal draft of the ETBI Strategy be sent to the Department.

  1. Organisation Design – Phase 2

80% of Key Senior Management Posts from Organisation Design Phase 1 have been appointed and PAS are working on the remaining applications from the January 2017 competition.

The approach for Phase 2 of the Organisation Design is to develop a workforce plan for the Sector. This will provide an opportunity for ETBs to identify their priorities as set out in the Delegated Sanction Agreement letter, 20th December 2016, putting in place a framework for the Sector. The ETB CEsnoted that this will require a shared vision and requested the DES share their vision for the ETBs so as to examine if there are resource needs.

Challenges on the Further Education and Training side were raised as some staff are not paid through pay budgets. It was also noted that originally there was agreement with each ETBs on Head Office and Sub Office locations, this may need to be re-examined as there are still some additional offices in use by the ETBs. DES agreed to work with ETBs through the issues while taking into consideration the upcoming shared service projects and the need to resource these projects.

The ETBI General Secretary noted that a subgroup of CEs have already been nominated by the ETBI CE Forum to work on Organisation Design.

The GRETB CE noted that the timeline was quite long and an effort to expedite it would be appreciated. It was noted by DES that the timeline is just indicative at this stage.

Overall the approach was welcomed.

  1. AOB

None.

Next meetings

a)DES/CE’s meeting is scheduled for 11.00am on the 8th February 2017

b)ETB/SOLAS Department Groupis scheduled for 11.30am on the 21st February 2017

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Annette Shirley

ETB/SOLAS PMO

27th January 2017

10 - 7000 Minutes 18012017