Tomorrows Skills: Towards a National Skills Strategy

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Tomorrows Skills Towards a National Skills
Strategy
Institute of Technology Forum30th March 2007
Martin Shanahan
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National Skills Strategy

• Launched 6th March 2007
• This National Skills Strategy sets out clear
  long term objectives as to what our education and
  training systems need to deliver if Ireland is to
  develop competitive advantage in terms of world
  class skills, education and training
• Micheál Martin, Minister for Enterprise, Trade
  and Employment

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The report sets out
Contents

• Irelands current skills performance
• Irelands projected skills profile in 2020 based
  on no additional education and training supply
• The projected skills needs of the economy out to
  2020 from both a quantitative and qualitative
  perspective
• A vision of the skills profile which will drive
  competitive advantage within the Irish economy
• Broad guidelines in relation to achieving these
  objective

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Policy Context
World-class Skills, Education Training
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Labour Force in 2020 based on no additional
education and training supply
Source EGFSN
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Will skills profile based on no additional
supply be good enough?

• The answer is NO!
• Ireland will still lag comparator countries in
  terms of percentage of the labour force with
  lower secondary education or below
• Supply will not meet demand for skills in 2020.
  There will be shortages at third and fourth level
  and an oversupply of lower level skills
• From an economic and societal perspective it is
  not desirable to have such a large cohort at or
  below lower secondary level
• Skills have the potential to shape the economy of
  the future and contribute to productivity and
  innovation

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Vision

• The Expert Group proposes a vision of Ireland in
  2020, possessing a well-educated and highly
  skilled population which contributes to a
  competitive, innovation-driven, knowledge-based,
  participative and inclusive economy.
• Specifically, the Expert Group proposes that, by
  2020
• 48 of the labour force should have
  qualifications at NFQ Levels 6 to 10
• 45 should have qualifications at levels 4 5
• the remaining 7 will have qualifications at
  levels 1 to 3 by 2020 and
• within this objective, Ireland should aim to
  build capability at fourth level and double its
  PhD output (Level 10) by 2013.

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Vision
Source EGFSN
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Employment by Sector
Source EGFSN
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Change in Absolute and Relative Employment by
Occupation from 2005 to 2020
Source EGFSN
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Increasing emphasis on Generic Skills

• Basic or fundamental skills such as literacy,
  using numbers, using technology
• People-related skills such as communication,
  interpersonal, team working, customer-service
  skills and
• Conceptual skills such as collecting and
  organising information, problem-solving, planning
  and organising, learning-to-learn skills,
  innovation and creativity, systems thinking.

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Within Occupations
Changing Skills Requirements

• There is likely to be demand for an
• Increasing Breadth of Knowledge
• Increased Share of Knowledge Work / Reduced Share
  of Routine Work
• Rising Qualification and Technical Skill
  Requirements
• Importance of Continuing Learning
• Significance of Regulation
• Skills for Dealing with Others
• Management Level Skills
• Sales and Marketing Skills
• Language Skills
• RD

Enterprise Skills
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Where should our focus be?
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Labour force in 2020 will be made up of
Labour force
1.45m From the current labour force of 2m
2.4m Labour force

650,000 New flow of young people from the
education system

300,000 Increased participation Migration
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Upskilling the workforce
Within the current workforce, an additional
500,000 people need to be upskilled through
either education or training
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Within the formal education system
Formal Education

• The retention rate to Leaving Certificate should
  reach 90 by 2020 (current rate 82)
• The progression rate from second to third level
  should increase to 72 by 2020 (current rate 55)
• In 2020, 94 of the population aged 20-24 should
  have a second level qualification (current rate
  86)

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Increased participation

• Increase participation in the labour force
  through higher levels of education and training
• Immigrants need to be integrated into the
  education and training system at all levels
• English language supports need to be put in place
• The recognition of international qualifications
  is key to maximising the contribution of
  immigrant labour

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Achieving the Objective

• Education and training up to level 5 should be
  funded by Government for those currently without
  qualifications at this level.
• Education and training from level 6-10 should be
  funded in a tri-partite arrangement between
  employers, employees and Government.
• Broad estimates place the cost of the proposed
  additional upskilling to levels 3, 4 and 5 at one
  153 million per annum. The cost of upskilling at
  the higher levels 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 is estimated
  at 304 million per annum over a thirteen year
  period.
• Move to a system that is more enterprise and
  employee led, away from provider driven model.

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Some Issues for Implementation

• Mechanisms to incentivise employers and employees
• Paid Learning Leave
• Individual Learning Accounts, Voucher systems
• Tax incentives
• Brokerage services
• Grants and subsidies
• Increase awareness of value of education and
  training amongst those in employment
• Course accreditation and recognition of prior
  learning for those in employment

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Conclusions
Changing Skills Needs pose significant
challenges and opportunities for the third level
sector in particular. In order to deliver the
types of services demanded by consumers (both
enterprises and individuals), universities and,
in particular, institutes of technology (IoTs)
will have to deliver flexible, market driven
solutions Do the right things well!