Paul Givan was once best known as the Communities Minister who cut an Irish language bursary scheme by £55,000 just before Christmas 2016.
But today his first port of call was Rathmore, a Catholic grammar school in Finaghy, Belfast, followed by Glenwood Primary on the Shankill.
Mr Givan was the surprise choice of the DUP for the education portfolio during Saturday’s restoration of the Assembly, and said first on his agenda will be meeting with teaching unions in a bid to end the ongoing teacher dispute over pay.
He said the finance must be there to match his ambition across education.
“The unions’ desire to support their members, whether they are teachers or support staff, is the same desire that I have. They should be recognised for the job that they do,” he said.
“We have superb teachers in Northern Ireland and that has to be reflected in the terms and conditions that they have.
“That is a priority. We need to resolve the industrial action, we need to resolve the action short of strike, which does have a detrimental impact upon schools being able to deliver for children and young people
“I want to see the resolution to that very quickly, to reach an outcome where they are properly recognised in their terms and conditions, and then schools are able to get on with teaching children.”
Paul Givan with to staff and students at Rathmore Grammar School
Mr Givan said there was now a need for his colleagues on the NI Executive to invest in the future.
“Of course there are challenges there, but there’s also great opportunity,” he said. “The requirements are significant.
“How this department has been historically funded simply will not cut it. It will not come anywhere near what is required. That task is for my colleagues in the Executive to support me in the vision that I have for the Department of Education and the school estate and to deliver on that.”
The DUP choose the education brief as their first pick of the ministerial portfolios last Saturday instead of finance. Sinn Fein then nominated Caoimhe Archibald to serve as Finance Minister.
“I suppose having been the health spokesperson for the party, that was the area I had been working in,” he said.
“But from previous experience I’ve always known the departmental picks are sometimes decided 24 hours beforehand.
“Ultimately, Jeffrey wanted education. It’s the next generation. I agreed with him and it’s a privilege for me to be in the position now.
“It’s now with the Finance Minister who will bring forward a paper which will be subject to agreement of the Executive. Ministers can’t act unilaterally in that respect. I have full confidence that the Finance Minister wants to support education system in Northern Ireland.
“Getting the next generation ready for the future, investing in them, that’s a priority for everybody. That crosses across every political party and it is blind to any differences there are within our country, constitutional issues and so on. We all want the best for our children.”
Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan at Rathmore Grammar School
And with mentions of border polls from the new First Minister, Mr Givan said he will remain professional and concentrate on getting on with the job in hand.
“It will not come as a surprise that Michelle O’Neill is a republican and Paul Givan is a unionist,” he said.
“Everyone knows what our constitutional positions are. What I do think though is that the public expect us to get on with the day to day issues and not be fixated on the question of border polls. My focus is on delivering on the issues that relate to education.
“My relationships in politics have always been professional,” he added.
“That’s how I’ve operated in the past and that’s how I’ll do it in the future as well. We have a job of work to do and we’ll do it professionally. Let’s get on with doing that job.”