{"id":721,"date":"2023-06-06T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T07:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/?p=721"},"modified":"2023-06-08T10:53:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T09:53:42","slug":"collecting-further-education-and-training-fet-service-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/2023\/06\/06\/collecting-further-education-and-training-fet-service-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Collecting Further Education and Training (FET) Service Data"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_722\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-722\" style=\"width: 238px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-722\" src=\"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Blog-Anne-Barron-238x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Image of person wh wrote blog - Anne Barron\" width=\"238\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Blog-Anne-Barron-238x300.jpeg 238w, https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Blog-Anne-Barron.jpeg 716w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-722\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Anne Barron, Data Reporting Officer, Donegal ETB&#8217;s Further Education and Training (FET) Service.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our Further Education and Training (FET) Service creates, collects and utilises a lot of data. But what does that involve and why does it do that? In this blog, FET Systems and Data Reporting Officer Anne Barron tells us more about it.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Donegal ETB\u2019s FET Service uses a national software system called the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Programme and Learner Support System or PLSS for short, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to provide an integrated approach to the collection and processing of the personal data of students <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">funded through SOLAS (the state agency which oversees further education and training in Ireland),<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and on the outputs, outcomes and performance of these programmes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the FET Systems and Data Reporting Officer, I\u2019m involved in leading efforts to continuously improve <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PLSS and<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for establishing targets, outcomes, outputs, student tracking and reporting which supports <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the advancement of the FET Service locally and nationally. I\u2019m also involved in finding useful insights in both quantitative and qualitative data to inform planning and to promote continuous improvements across the Service.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The role also looks to meet the training needs of FET staff who use <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PLSS and an internal project has recently begun to review processes for standardisation across the FET Service, seeking improvements that will allow us to integrate recommendations for effective use of data from our recent QQI review.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cData is like garbage.\u00a0 You\u2019d better know what you are going to do with it before you collect it\u201d \u2013 Mark Twain<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We collect learner data for a range of reasons:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Operational &#8211; <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the state agency that oversees further education and training, SOLAS, is statutorily required to communicate with students and others to evaluate the FET sector in Ireland under the 2013 Further Education and Training Act. The data must establish the eligibility of students and applicants to attend FET courses and assess their employability. The data also facilitates them in meeting the demands of the labour market to coordinate and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of FET provision.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Reporting &#8211; <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">they are also obliged to report on the education\/training and funding received by FET students so the data we gather helps it to ensure the FET sector meets the demands of the labour market, to coordinate an efficient FET sector in Ireland and evaluate FET outcomes.\u00a0At a national and European level, they are also required to report on the FET sector by the European Social Fund (ESF) which requires each Member State to collect and store detailed data about each student in receipt of ESF co-funding (for example, students on Youthreach, adult literacy, traineeship and specific skills courses). For this, SOLAS must be able to gather evidence which it obtains from its evaluation of FET outcomes, including improved employability and the social inclusion of various groups in society (e.g. youth, females, long term unemployed, immigrants, persons with disabilities, socio-economic disadvantaged, etc.).\u00a0There is also the possibility of being randomly audited by the European Commission to verify and validate Ireland\u2019s ESF claim for funding. If ESF auditors were to make a finding of poor data or information quality, ESF co-funded provision could be suspended. This would have a serious knock-on effect on FET funding in Ireland, including a potential reduction in funding.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are often asked if the same data is collected for all students on all courses and it is &#8211; all FET students undertaking one of our FET courses are requested to provide the same data. This means that we can report and reflect accurately on the courses we provide and are able to meet our legal obligations around auditing and funding requirements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another question we are often asked is who has access to the data in PLSS?\u00a0SOLAS is the only agency that has access to this data and who has a complete overview of PLSS. Each ETB and FET Centre only has access to the data that it provides on PLSS. Student data is kept for the purposes of on-going administration, audit, and review, but only for as long as is necessary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Donegal ETB is committed to ensuring that the personal data of its students are handled in accordance with the principles set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016\/679) and the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018. If you have any queries about how your Personal Data is processed, please contact Donegal ETB\u2019s Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@donegaletb.ie.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gathering, monitoring and reporting on all this data also requires a number of other activities:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liaising with appropriate staff to correlate audit information as and when required.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liaising with key staff across FET including the FET Director, Senior Management Team, Communications Officer, PLSS working group, Quality Assurance Support Services, Programme Development Officer and the Training Standards Team towards delivering an efficient and effective Service.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Managing, monitoring and escalating PLSS helpdesk queries as appropriate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Representing Donegal ETB\u2019s FET Service on relevant national PLSS Advisory and other stakeholder groups.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Preparing FET corporate reports as required.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensuring all key timelines and dates for submission of annual Donegal ETB statistical data are adhered to in accordance with the SOLAS overarching Planning and Funding parameters and requirements for ETBs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monitoring student numbers and outcomes on an ongoing basis and reporting regularly on data gaps.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Providing regular updates to ensure staff are fully briefed regarding the operation of PLSS including system updates.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Utilising data from systems to prepare necessary reports tracking Donegal ETB\u2019s FET Service performance agreement and other KPIs and communicate this information back to centres and services as directed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Managing the provision of relevant reports from FET systems to the FET senior management team to help inform strategic decision making, continuous improvement and planning.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using the data visualization tool Tableau to bring data alive visually and \u201cto make the data dance.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-725 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Data-Anne-Barron-Blog-300x153.png\" alt=\"Images of data\" width=\"300\" height=\"153\" srcset=\"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Data-Anne-Barron-Blog-300x153.png 300w, https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Data-Anne-Barron-Blog.png 642w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our Further Education and Training (FET) Service creates, collects and utilises a lot of data. But what does that involve and why does it do that? In this blog, FET Systems and Data Reporting Officer Anne Barron tells us more about it.\u00a0 Donegal ETB\u2019s FET Service uses a national software system called the Programme and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=721"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":730,"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721\/revisions\/730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donegaletb.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}