Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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423. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which extra provision is being made to extend and expand third and fourth-level education with particular reference to the ongoing requirements of the jobs market and the need to respond in the short-term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13088/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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424. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he and his Department propose to further broaden higher education opportunities for undergraduates here with a view to maximisation of their opportunities in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13098/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 423 and 424 together.

High-quality graduate output is critical to meeting the needs of the economy, and the number of students enrolled in all areas of higher education has steadily increased over the past number of years. Since 2014, yearly graduates from HEA-funded higher education institutions have increased by 22%, from 66,500 in 2014 to 81,400 in 2020. Projections of enrolment at third level predict that full-time student enrolments will rise a further 13% over the next decade, and work is ongoing to build capacity within the system to accommodate this increase.

My officials are working with the Higher Education Authority and with the higher education sector to examine where additional undergraduate places can and should be provided in the higher education system for the next academic year. Any additional places created this year will be targeted at areas of acute skills need as identified through our national skills architecture. The introduction of additional places should also be sustainable and aligned with medium term planning. There are challenges in expanding the facilities, lecturing expertise and clinical and other placements associated with particular courses and, to the extent that these can be overcome, sustainable approaches are required.  

While increasing places in higher education in a targeted way is an important policy response, it is only one part of the answer.  It is just as important to ensure that all learners have access to the right courses for them, across the spectrum of provision. This year, Leaving Certificate students can find information about their further education and apprenticeship options, as well as their higher education options, at cao.ie/options. I encourage any Leaving Certificate students who are feeling worried or uncertain about their future educational journey to consider all the options available to them.

The mainstream supply of graduates is supplemented with more targeted initiatives designed to meet specific skills needs.  The two key national targeted initiatives in the higher education system are Springboard+ and the Human Capital Initiative. There is a combined total of 13,444 places on 408 courses available in the 2021/22 academic year under these initiatives.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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425. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the efforts being made to ensure the availability of an adequate supply of graduates at third and fourth-level in order to attract inward investment here in the specialised areas of medical science; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13099/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There are a number of key strategies in place at all levels to ensure we meet existing and future skills demands, including in the area of medical science. These include policies designed to ensure a pipeline of suitably qualified science and technical graduates, and initiatives to equip young people and the working population more generally with the skills and capacity to meet these demands. These strategies and initiatives include: the National Skills Strategy 2025; Technology Skills 2022; Springboard+; the Human Capital Initiative and the July Stimulus package. Some of the courses funded under Springboard+ in 2021/22 were in areas such as biopharmaceutical manufacturing and processing, medical technologies and biomedical engineering.

The number of students studying STEM at third level has been growing, with the number of yearly graduates in the field of natural sciences, mathematics and statistics increasing by almost 1,500 between 2015 and 2020, from 5,220 to 6,710. My Department will continue to engage with the Department of Education on their STEM Education Policy Statement to ensure that learners are given every opportunity to engage with the sciences, and ensure that pipeline of suitably qualified medical science graduates is maintained.