Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the participants for their submissions. I follow the Forfás report regularly and know it has been for many years tracking the skills needs of industry. We are in a situation where we had an over-dependence on one sector, the construction sector, so diversification is very important and the STEM subjects will be critical in this regard.

The point about languages seems to come up repeatedly and the development of language skills is probably the most important issue in terms of addressing the needs of students. Traditionally it is not an area which receives a lot of attention but I was struck by comments from PayPal when it tried to recruit here and found that the deficit in language skills was a major obstacle. I welcome the fact that the delegation addressed this issue today.

Germany was mentioned with regard to the apprenticeship sector. Mr. Seán O'Driscoll, whose company Glen Dimplex does a lot of work in Germany, addressed this committee recently. He said that we do not make enough things in this country. Perhaps that also ties in with Senator Quinn's comments about entrepreneurship. Whether one is talking about small or large units, we do not make or manufacture much in Ireland. The point was also made that in the German education system children are streamed at a young age into technical or academic routes. We are a long way from such a system here and apprenticeship is hardly even discussed in the context of jobs in this country. In Germany there is a strong emphasis on pushing children along a more technical route and developing their manual skills. The Germans put great store in such an education, unlike here, where the emphasis is invariably on academic achievements. However, academic achievement is no guide to a person's ability to perform at work.

I would like some more background information from Forfás with regard to skills development in response to the needs of industry, both Irish and international. It is very important to keep abreast of skills development and to be able to predict where skills shortages may develop in the future.