Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 January 2024
342. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide details of the work his Department does with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, to ensure that students and apprentices transition into suitable employment opportunities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2288/24]
View answerIt is essential more than ever that our skills ecosystem has the agility and flexibility to adapt to changing priorities in the skills and workforce development landscape, with the backdrop of the accelerating and intensifying digital and green transitions. In this context, one of the key themes of the OECD Review of Ireland's National Skills Strategy published last May was the need to secure a balance in skills through a responsive, diversified supply of skills in Ireland.
The tertiary education system plays a central role in ensuring that our graduates from higher education, further education and training and from apprenticeship are equipped with the essential transversal skills, on top of vocational and professional skills and competencies that will equip them for success in work. These skills enhance their employability and ensure graduates have skills to adapt to diverse tasks and contribute meaningfully to the workplace and the society.
The agility and flexibility of the tertiary system is underscored by responsiveness to priority industry and enterprise workforce needs under key policy initiatives that require whole-of-government efforts and collaboration 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. Those concerted efforts aim to improve balance between skills demand and supply.
A key aspect of FET courses is their focus on the needs of employers and industry developments, to ensure learners are equipped to gain employment following course completion. One of the strategic objectives of national Further Education and Training strategy is to support learner pathways within FET and progression to higher education courses, where relevant and a goal of the learner.
A key strength of the apprenticeship model is that it is a demand-led employer-driven approach to meeting workforce and skill requirements in our economy. As such, the demand for and number of apprentices is primarily dictated by employers and their needs in any sector. Apprenticeships are programmes of training in employment undertaken through a contract of employment. There is a clear connection established between skills demands and apprenticeship registrations in the economy that aims to address skills gaps and increase employability of graduates.
Overall employment rates for graduates remain at a historic high, with 83% of graduates in employment 9 months after graduation. Employment rates are highest for Education graduates (93.9%) followed by Health and Welfare graduates (88%) and ICT graduates (87.1%). Employment rates were lowest for graduates from the Arts and Humanities (66.3%) followed by Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics (76.6%) and Social Sciences, Journalism and Information (77.8%)
Technological Universities generally have higher employment rates than Universities as more of their graduates go directly into employment rather than pursue further study. Between 82% and 87% of honours degree graduates from TUs are in employment nine months post-graduation, compared to 64% - 85% for Universities. TUS had the highest employment rate, at 86.9% while the University of Galway had the lowest (64.4%)
The Central Statistics Office also publish data on higher education outcomes, matching HEA graduate data against administrative data sources such as Revenue and Department of Social Protection records. The latest data published, which relates to outcomes for students who graduated in 2019 one year after graduation, found that 94% of graduates were still registered in employment, education or social welfare sources within the state
