Ms Fiona Longmuir:

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach as an gcuireadh a thabhairt dom teacht anseo. I thank everyone for forgiving my extremely poor Irish. My name is Fiona Longmuir. I am the learning and skills manager for the Institute of Physics in Ireland. Together with my colleague, Dr. Michael Kyle, we are delighted to be here today to discuss the skills and apprenticeship landscape in Ireland.

Before I begin, I wish to acknowledge the Government's commitment to progress Ireland's associate membership of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, in its budget 2024 proposals. The Institute of Physics has long campaigned for Ireland to join this important international research institution and I am glad to see the Government taking steps to making membership a reality. I acknowledge the work of this committee's predecessor, which advocated for Ireland to join CERN in 2019, recognising the important opportunities it offers to Ireland's researchers, academics and students alike. I also acknowledge the support the Institute of Physics has received from politicians across the political divide, Department officials and our members in progressing Ireland's membership of CERN.

Turning to skills, the timing could not be better to have this conversation as we are currently in the European Year of Skills, one purpose of which is to help small and medium-sized enterprises to address crucial skills shortages. Physics-related skills are applicable in a wide range of industries and research communities, meaning they open up opportunities for learning and working in industries from engineering to medicine and accounting to zoology. Today, physics-related skills underpin a huge number of businesses and industries in Ireland, with the physics sector in 2021 generating €81 billion in turnover. Physics-based industries employ 190,000 people in full-time equivalent terms and these employees boast both high average earnings and extremely high labour productivity. The sector is expanding all the time with 45% growth in jobs between 2010 and 2020. Given the role of physics in emerging industries like semiconductors, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, we expect demand for these skills to continue growing.

Unfortunately, this demand is currently going unmet. In June 2021, almost 9,000 physics-related jobs in the UK and Ireland were advertised for significantly longer than average. In research commissioned by the Institute of Physics, 61% of physics-related businesses reported having delayed research, development and innovation between 2016 and 2021 due to a lack of skilled workers. This is a big missed opportunity to accelerate homegrown innovation and could result in technologies being developed abroad, further deepening the loss of skills.

Existing shortfalls, coupled with growing demand for physics skills, mean that the skills gap is likely to widen in the coming years.

Improving the appeal of physics to all people, including those from under-represented groups, offers the most efficient and effective way of increasing the overall numbers of people in the community. Stereotypes still persist that stop young people believing they can study physics or dreaming of the opportunities physics careers can offer. Physics offers a wealth of benefits to individuals and, ultimately, to society. It develops ways of reasoning that broaden horizons and open doors. It provides powerful and beautiful explanations about the workings of the world, which deepen our understanding and can spur innovation. We want to build a sustainable and thriving skills-based ecosystem that will support the next industrial revolution, which will, in turn, sustain the health, wealth and well-being of our future generations.

Urgent and sustained action is required to give all young people access to a high-quality physics education and equip them with ways of thinking that will help them navigate the choices and challenges they face in society. At school, this means that all young people should have access to a specialist physics teacher who is empowered by ongoing professional development to confidently deliver the curriculum and advise students on the wide range of opportunities open to them once they complete their mandatory education.

Ireland ranks significantly above the OECD average in its share of young adults with a tertiary degree. However, access to well-paid and productive career paths should not be limited to those pursuing a degree. In fact, approximately half of physics-related jobs do not require a degree, making further education and training a valuable and underutilised tool in the closing of the skills gap. There have been significant positive changes in the apprenticeship sector in recent times with the establishment of the national apprenticeship office and the launching of Generation Apprenticeship. The five-year apprenticeship action plan is wide-ranging and ambitious and the Institute of Physics would welcome the opportunity to support the building of an apprenticeship landscape that is responsive to the changing needs of employers, attractive to learners from all backgrounds and, most of all, able to deliver the skilled workforce that will power the industries shaping our future.

The recent Institute of Physics report, Solving Skills, identified a number of areas of opportunity for governments in the UK and Ireland to address the systemic issues holding back the growth of skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, and particularly STEM apprenticeships. The first is ensuring that a broad and genuinely representative cross-section of industry is involved in shaping apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are uniquely positioned to tackle the skills gap if we are able to create opportunity in those sectors poised for future growth. The second is ensuring young people in education before the age of 16 are meaningfully exposed to local employers and technical education providers in order that apprenticeships are better understood as a viable route into jobs. At the moment, 16 counties have three or fewer apprenticeships open for application on the Generation Apprenticeship website and four counties have none at all.

The third area is tackling the shortage of skilled apprenticeship educators to ensure quality provision and addressing the severe shortage of physics teachers in schools. Skilled workers require a great education and a great education relies on great teachers. By tackling teacher recruitment, retention and retraining, we will equip a generation with the skills required to undertake the jobs of the future. The fourth is taking decisive action to break down stereotypes about physics, science and apprenticeships, including making whole-school equity plans mandatory in all schools and nurseries. Of the 45 apprenticeships offered in construction, electrical, engineering, finance, ICT and the motor industry, only six had more than 20% female participation in 2022. Apprenticeships must be made attractive and welcoming to learners from all backgrounds, with particular focus on under-represented groups such as women and girls, disabled learners, learners from minority ethnic backgrounds and learners from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. The fifth area of opportunity is improving data collection on the progression and destination of apprentices to ensure systems are genuinely inclusive and to inform policy and action.

The Institute of Physics is a passionate advocate for the benefits physics can bring both to the individual and to society at large. We will continue to work to bring those benefits to the greatest number of people possible. We believe that a thriving and robust physics ecosystem from early years through to further and higher education will equip future generations to close the skills gap and deliver the economic and societal benefits of the next industrial revolution. We thank members for their attention today.