Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Representatives of the business community appeared before the committee earlier in the week. One statistic they highlighted was the significant correlation in 18 to 23 year olds post leaving certificate between what they have achieved in education and what they begin to earn. The unemployment factor will be very important in the context of the opportunity for kids coming out of school and we will face significant challenges in this area. The curriculum needs to be fundamentally shifted and re-examined. I think of children learning theorems and so on, which many of them may not have the opportunity to use in later life. I would like the curriculum to be broadly based, particularly in transition year and beyond, on getting children integrated with working scenarios and the SME community to give them an offering and to get them going as quickly as possible post secondary school.