Ms Meadhbh Costello:

I thank the Deputy for his questions. As has already been mentioned, there are many positives associated with the leaving certificate that we need to retain in any reformation including the public perception that there is a high level of fairness in the final exams. However, the leaving certificate does not completely prepare students for entering further education or the world of work. We really need an assessment model that champions what we value in the student experience and recognises and rewards all types of learners. This needs to embed transferable skills as well as employability skills. These higher order skills really need to be recognised as a valuable component of an individual's learning. The current assessment model, because it focuses on a final examination, narrows the student's learning experience to rote learning and an ability to recall, at one moment in time, two year's worth of knowledge. What we would like to see is continuous assessment in different formats which would be better able to capture a learner's learning journey across those two years. This should take place over a number of different assessment modes that can capture things such skills in areas like critical thinking, problem solving, team work, communications, data analysis and data identification which will enable students to develop an ability to tackle the grand challenges facing society.

On the question of what type of skills students will need for the future of work, a number of key areas are alluded to in our submission and opening statement. Digital skills is a key area. Ireland is a hub for many major global ICT firms and we need to ensure there is a strong pipeline of ICT graduates, which will continue to raise Ireland's profile in this regard. It is a fact that digital skills and digital literacy have penetrated almost every sector of society and that everybody will need to have access to those skills. We need to see digital literacy embedded across the education system and the foundation for that needs to be built not only at second level but also in primary schools to ensure that students have the right preparation to launch them into more advanced digital skills such as computer science, coding, data analysis and even artificial intelligence, AI, skills. Other areas of interest include green skills, construction skills and the transferable skills to which I referred.