Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 March 2023
62. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the extent to which it is expected to match the skill requirement of industry with the skills and qualifications of those exiting education in the current year, based on previous years' experience; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15657/23]
View answerMy Department continues to prioritise strengthening our skills ecosystem to ensure it has the agility and flexibility to adapt to changing priorities in the skills and workforce development landscape, including increasingly rapid, technologically driven changes in the world of work. This focus is underpinned by the detailed and comprehensive OECD review of Ireland's National Skills Strategy which is currently being finalised.
Bodies such as SOLAS's Skills and Labour Market Research Unit and the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs have a key role in assessing and forecasting for the skills and talent needs in an economy being transformed by digitisation and the decarbonisation imperative. The analysis which they carry out is central to informing responsive programme planning across the tertiary system; and flexible and innovative responses to changes in the world of work, such as the Human Capital Initiative and Springboard+. It is also important that our education and training providers align their offerings to the evolving requirements of critical public services such as health and social care and education sectors.
This agility and flexibility is further underscored by responsiveness to priority enterprise and public service workforce needs under key policy initiatives such as, for example; the Action Plan for Apprenticeship; Funding the Future; the Green Skills for FET Roadmap; and the National Digital Strategy Harnessing Digital.
Ireland's success in ensuring that those with qualifications from the tertiary system are meeting the country's needs is evidenced by the results of the Higher Education Authority's national Graduate Outcomes Survey which shows that overall 81.9% of graduates in 2021 were in employment nine months after graduation.
