Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Since 1930, it has provided the backbone of our economy in that it created and provided skills across the whole wide range of human endeavour that was needed by the economy and which is perhaps needed even more so now. It is somewhat ironic that the original motivation behind further education provision has been neglected. I am sure Senator Craughwell will have something to say about this, having been himself involved in that area.

I am disappointed, therefore, that in last year’s budget, the then Minister for Education and Skills reduced funding for the post-leaving certificate, PLC, sector. He provided for a two point increase in the pupil-teacher ratio for PLC schools, saving €4 million but with a loss of 200 whole-time equivalent teaching posts in the PLC sector. The allocations to VECs, vocational education committees, were cut by €13 million. Capitation rates to PLC colleges and VTOS, vocational training opportunities scheme, were also cut by 2%. As part of the social welfare budget, it was announced that from January 2013, the €300 cost of education allowance payable to back to education allowance participants would be discontinued for new and existing participants. As a result of these changes, the number of vocational schools offering PLC programmes dropped. This decrease was also reflected in a drop of some 1,521 students taking such programmes in 2013-2014, bringing their numbers down to 34,003.

Accordingly, it is not beyond the bounds of comprehension that Members on this side of the House call on the Minister to do more to support and enhance the further education sector and, maybe, attempt to reverse the cuts imposed on the sector in recent years now there is an upturn in the economy. I am sure the Minister of State does not need to be reminded that when Tony Blair became UK Prime Minister in 1997, he was asked what his three priorities were. His answer was education, education and education. I know the Government, through these programmes, is very conscious of the importance of education.

In the context of where the focus is now, perhaps we should look at those not academically gifted or who are not suitable or comfortable in an academic environment. One of my sons is doing very well, relatively speaking. However, he never liked the academic side of school. He used to say he wanted to be doing something. The written side of school work was not something with which he felt comfortable. It was inevitable that he ended up taking a degree course in audio-video production. He is now in America on a graduate visa programme. Fingers crossed, he will get something there that will enhance skills. In the context of this debate, it brought home to me that there is a significant cohort of young people for whom higher education is not the best option. While the focus seems to be on this sector, all the evidence suggests employers do not all see it in that light too. For example, the dominance of an exclusive focus on higher education has had important implications for young people, particularly for those from more disadvantaged backgrounds.A surprising number of employers express impatience that graduates "do not know how things work and it takes a year or two to get them job ready". Despite the numbers of graduates seeking jobs, employers are instructing recruitment agents to look for people "with the right skills to get the job done".

There is a great deal more I would like to say but my time is up. When I was obliged to go to London as a young man to find work, I eventually ended up in the employment agency business. I worked for an Irish company called the Emerald Staff Agency, sadly no longer with us, which had several branches across London. I was only 20 or 21 at the time and I remember dealing with young Irish emigrants who were just off the boat, with a leaving certificate in one hand and an expectation in the other. They had been told that if they got their leaving certificate, they would be guaranteed a job for life. This was in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when second level participation was not as high as it is now. I had to ready some of these people for interview by explaining that their academic qualification was not enough. There had to be a certain extra dimension to how they would get the job done. I have found time and again that there is a gap in the Irish education sector in this regard.

The cohort of long-term unemployed was stubbornly large even before the recession. Will the Minister of State consider whether there is a need to refocus and rebalance the Springboard programme, not in any way to take away from its success but rather to expand it a little by putting resources into further education, which includes PLC and FETAC courses, instead of focusing solely on the higher education sector?