Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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267. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which his Department has entered into dialogue with a view to ensuring that the requirements of modern industry are being adequately met by the educational skills of modern graduates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50794/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Meeting the requirements of enterprise is a high priority for the higher education system and the reform programme being implemented at all levels of the education system aims to increase the responsiveness and quality of our institutions overall. The new System Performance Framework which is being implemented by the Higher Education Authority outlines national priorities and key system objectives against which the performance of the institutions will be assessed. One of these key system objectives is for the system "to meet Ireland's human capital needs across the spectrum of skills by engaged institutions through diverse mix of provision across the system and through both core funding and specifically targeted initiatives."

The HEA is now engaged in agreeing performance compacts with the HEIs which will be aligned with performance funding to ensure that these objectives are met. The development of appropriate skills for the workplace has implications for curricula, programme design and teaching methodologies at all levels of the education system. As enterprise sectors develop and expand, demand for employees with core technical and specialist expertise across a range of disciplines continues to grow. Employers also equally value more generic skills such as creativity, critical thinking, communication and interpersonal skills, and problem solving abilities.

As part of the implementation of the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030, last year the first National Employers Survey developed by IBEC and other key education and enterprise partners on the quality of Irish graduates was piloted. The results were very encouraging with more than 75% of employers expressing confidence that graduates have the right workplace and transferable skills and the relevant knowledge in their subject and discipline. A full report of its findings can be found at the following link: .

The establishment of structures to engage with enterprise as well as reliable research on labour market needs are necessary to ensure that the system is meeting the needs of enterprise. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, which is funded by my Department, plays a pivotal role in advising on future skills needs and any emerging gaps. Its research provides a valuable input to the development of course curricula and has also informed the development of new competitive funding models of provision to address emerging skills needs, including Springboard, Momentum and the ICT skills conversion programmes and Skillnets.

The Secretary General of my Department chairs an Enterprise Engagement Forum on a regular basis so that representatives and leaders from the enterprise sector can directly engage with the highest levels of senior management in the Department on relevant issues. We are continually seeking to improve the level of dialogue with enterprise at departmental, national, regional and institutional level throughout the education system. Irish higher education has an outstanding record in producing graduates with Ireland joint first in the EU for proportion of 30-34 year olds with a higher education qualification. The reform programme underway will ensure that we maintain and enhance the relevance and quality of provision so that our graduates can continue to compete with the best in the world.