Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Very good. There is some evidence that industry is not happy with the non-academic skills, for example, teamwork, problem-solving, work ethic and communications. A survey done by Accenture in February 2020 found that these skills were really lacking. Undergraduate programmes expect these skills to be acquired at home or in school. In many cases, students from disadvantaged backgrounds depend on school to teach such skills. However, the leaving certificate examination, as structured, does not measure that kind of activity or area of endeavour. Do the witnesses agree that the teaching of such skills needs to be included in the leaving certificate senior cycle? This would have implications for what we have just been talking about in terms of how people are assessed and selected for college courses.