Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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108. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills what work his Department is carrying out to address the skills deficit to meet 2030 targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2018/24]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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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 cognitive skills, the essential transversal skills, and the vocational and professional skills and competencies which will equip them for success in work and society.

Against the backdrop of the accelerating and intensifying digital and green transitions, it is essential that our skills ecosystem has the agility and flexibility to adapt to changing priorities in the skills and workforce development landscape. 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 agility and flexibility of the tertiary system is 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. It will be a priority to ensure a continued high level of responsiveness by the tertiary education system to the rapid pace of technological change, including the expected substantial impact of AI on the workforce.