Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A large number of companies in Ireland seek graduates with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and maths. This is not confined to the technology sector. Such skills are increasingly needed in every sector.

Ireland's education and training institutions are currently providing a wide range of courses which qualify graduates to meet these skill needs and to match employment opportunities as they arise. These include technology programmes in computer science, software engineering and computer applications and support.

Overall, Ireland is ranked No. 1 in the world for skills availability, with almost 48% of those aged between 25 and 34 having benefited from third level education. Over half of the students in Ireland graduate with a degree in engineering, science or business.

Nonetheless, skills gaps have emerged, particularly ICT skills, and given global demand, this is not an issue that is unique to Ireland. Demand for the necessary high-level ICT skills is exceeding supply. In response to this problem, last year my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, and I launched the joint Government-industry ICT Action Plan: Meeting the High Level ICT Skills Needs of Enterprise in Ireland.

Crucial elements of the ICT skills action plan are the up-skilling and conversion programmes. The conversion programme, in particular, recognises the impacts of the economic recession on the numbers of talented graduates from non-computing disciplines who are unemployed. A key element of these programmes has been the commitment by the industry to provide work experience during the programmes and opportunities for placement on completion. These initiatives are designed to ensure that the maximum possible numbers of jobs are filled domestically. Overall the programme plans to double the number of graduates available in these sectors.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, in its recent review of ICT skills demand in Ireland, found that these skills are vital to the successful transformation of many sectors to become innovative and respond to market opportunities. The mix of experience and skill from outside Ireland is essential to build diverse and dynamic clusters in these important areas.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

It is well known that every new job in an exporting business generates at least one other job in the domestic economy. However, in the case of certain high-skilled and creative employees that return has been estimated at 0.5 to one. We must therefore ensure that our employment permits system is geared towards attracting the skills we need in a managed system which complements the initiatives underway in the training and education sectors.

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