Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 March 2023
92. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way he is tackling the skills shortages in the workforce; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15664/23]
View answer93. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the extent to which provision continues to be made for increasing the supply of graduates at technical level in sufficient numbers to meet the demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15697/23]
View answer254. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the extent to which efforts continue to be made to ensure the availability of adequate qualified staffing levels to meet the requirements of the workplace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9180/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 92, 93 and 254 together.
My 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 and approach carried out in the course of the last year which is currently being finalised.
Bodies such as SOLAS's Skills and Labour Market Research Unit and the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment 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 (HCI) and Springboard+.
This agility and flexibility is further underscored by responsiveness to priority industry and enterprise 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 economy's skills needs are 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.
