"I ALWAYS carry my CV with me. It gives me something sensational to read in the train, as Oscar Wilde might have said if had ever met the latest incumbent on the IVEA throne. From teacher to principal to chief executive of Carlow Kildare Radio to president of Carlow Chamber of Commerce to general secretary of the Irish Vocational Education Association, Michael Moriarty's CV is packed with, incident.

"I'm an unusual person to be in the position I'm in now," he confides. "I come from the commercial sector to what is viewed as a conservative education sector." However, his roots are in education - he spent 16 years in teaching, eight as principal of a primary school.

Moriarty describes himself as an addictive personality. Once he becomes involved in something he must give it his all. But, when he feels a job is complete, it's time to move on. When CKR recently renewed its seven-year contract, Moriarty took it as the signal to find a new project for his considerable energy and enthusiasm.

Being general secretary of the IVEA allows him to marry his educational and senior management experience, he says. "I intend to be different. I intend to establish a higher media profile for the IVEA" The IVEA's standing council is supportive of this initiative.

Most people have a totally out-of-date view of vocational education," says Moriarty. "For example, I was involved with education for 16 years and I still saw vocational education as the local tech. They're not aware that the VECs are involved in the Vocational Training and Opportunities Scheme, in Post Leaving Cert courses, in Youthreach, in youth clubs, in prison education.

What we have here, he believes, is an educational revolution which has not publicised itself sufficiently. Somehow, one gets the feeling that all this is about to change.

Moriarty is concerned that what we are witnessing at present is the dismantling of provincial society . . . small schools are being closed, garda stations are being closed, the local creamery has been closed. VECs are close to society on a county basis and are able to respond to the community's needs, he says. VECs have devised the most dynamic and responsive education sector in this country, he asserts, and he says that he is going to get this message across.

"The IVEA is going to have a policy to sell. It will stand for something rather than being a management group having to say `no' most of the time. We are going to actively pursue policy goals ourselves to further enhance the VEC sector. I will be calling on the TUI and the Parents' Association of Vocational Schools and Community Colleges to join in the partnership to promote this sector that we all serve so well."

In relation to rationalisation, he believes that education is out of step with what is happening in other sectors. We have county structures being set up and partnership teams and enterprise boards, yet in education we are dismantling local structures in the interests of demographics and other spurious excuses.

THE proposed educational boards are not local democratic structures, he says. These regional structures are too large and too remote from the local community to be relevant to them. "I feel it's just another tier of bureaucracy which will soak up funds which could be spent at school level," says Moriarty. "Ireland has a population the size of Birmingham which has one education board. Niamh Bhreatnach is decentralising but she is not making it more democratic. The units are too large to be relevant to the local community.

"The IVEA has argued that the VEC structure is the ideal one for devolution. However our immediate concern is to determine the exact role of the VECs in relation to any new boards and in relation to the schools operated by the VECs. While still maintaining our opposition to the concept we must also face the reality of the boards becoming operational."

As well as using the IVEA to bring about change in the wider education field, he wants to bring about change within the IVEA itself. "I want to have a national structure which is more responsive to the needs of a modern organisation, that has the capability and structure to promote and enhance itself."