Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)
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266. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to address the recent reports of skill shortages amongst Irish graduates resulting in 36% of companies here hiring from abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3037/13]

Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)
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267. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to address the reported shortage of Irish graduates in computing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3039/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 266 and 267 together.

As part of the implementation of the National Strategy for Higher Education, IBEC, in cooperation with the Higher Education Authority and higher education institutions, completed the first pilot national survey of employers in December 2012. The overall results of the survey, which are available on the HEA website (www.hea.ie), were very positive, with over 75% of companies expressing confidence that graduates have the right workplace and transferable skills and relevant subject or discipline knowledge.