Joint Submission by Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and
Education and Skills to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Social
Protection and Education
Executive Summary
Introduction

Policy responsibility for enterprise development and competitiveness rests
with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The enterprise
development agencies, Enterprise Ireland, and the County Enterprise Boards
also have strong roles in supporting workforce skills development and
innovation. The Department of Education and Skills has overall responsibility
for the education and training system and the supply of skilled graduates for
the workforce. It also has a role in sustaining core research and innovation
infrastructure in higher education to support knowledge creation and new
sources of competitive advantage for future economic growth and
sustainable employment. Close engagement and collaboration between the
Departments, their agencies and the respective sectors is essential if
educational provision is to align with the current and emerging skills and
innovation requirements of the enterprise sector.
Policy Framework and Structures

The national policy framework underpinning this includes the National Skills
Strategy (2007); the Report of the Innovation Taskforce (2010) and the
National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 (2011). In seeking to
optimise the responsiveness of the education sector to enterprise needs, it is
essential that good cross-cutting policy structures and arrangements for
formal engagement are in place with relevant representation from both
education and enterprise.

This is currently facilitated through a number of formal structures including
national councils, implementation groups and committees, such as the
National Economic and Social Council (NESC), senior officials groups, the
Higher Education Strategy Implementation Group, the Innovation Task Force
Implementation Group and the Project Maths Implementation Group. Of key
importance in providing an advisory role to both sectors, underpinned by
detailed labour market forecasting and research, is the Expert Group on
Future Skills Needs, whose reports form a foundation for policy
developments in the skills area.
Skills Alignment

The Expert Group seeks to identify and project skills needs in enterprise,
encompassing both sector specific skills requirements and more generic skill
needs. Generic competencies required across enterprise would include
fundamental skills in literacy, numeracy and technology use as well as
1
communication and interpersonal skills and higher order conceptual skills in
problem solving, critical analysis and innovation.
Curricular Reform and Enterprise Development in Education

It is recognised that the development of appropriate skills for the workplace
has implications for curricula, programme design and teaching methodology
at all levels of the education system. The detailed submission outlines the
programme of curricular reform underway, based on the advice of the
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) which draws on
enterprise inputs. Curriculum developments at both primary level and
second level seek to embed core skills in all subject areas. The key skills
identified are information processing, communicating, critical and creative
thinking, working with others and being personally effective.

At second level, the NCCA is currently finalising its advice to the Minister on
proposals for significant Junior Cycle reform. One of the most significant
recent curricular reform initiatives is in Mathematics, which is identified as a
critical skills area for the enterprise sector. ‘Project Maths’ is being
implemented in Junior cycle and Senior cycle simultaneously. A Project
Maths Implementation Support Group provides a partnership between
industry, higher education and second level education to support the
objectives of Project Maths.

Supporting these broader reforms is growing provision for specific enterprise
development education and work experience in Irish schools, particularly in
transition year. Ireland is providing key inputs into an EU thematic working
group on Entrepreneurship Education. In addition, the enterprise
development agencies, business organisations and other agencies actively
foster and promote links between schools and the enterprise sector, through,
for example, programmes such as the Student Enterprise Awards, Junior
Achievement, Youth Enterprise Ireland, or Young Entrepreneur. These and
other mechanisms promote and reward entrepreneurship education in
schools.

Curricular reform and development of the engagement mission is also
ongoing in higher education. As a matter of policy, institutions adapt existing
programmes and develop new programmes on an ongoing basis in response
to enterprise needs, student demand, Government policy objectives and
their own strategic plans. A number of specific higher education-enterprise
engagement initiatives, initially supported through the Strategic Innovation
Fund, are cited in the detailed submission. The National Strategy for Higher
Education to 2030 describes a detailed framework and range of
recommendations to invigorate system responsiveness to and engagement
with the enterprise sector.

Strategic development of responses to more specific skills needs, in particular
the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) graduate deficit, is
2
pursued collaboratively by both Departments at official and inter-agency
level and through wider consultation with enterprise partners. A number of
initiatives, including bonus CAO points, the Discover Science and Engineering
Awareness Programme and other outreach and awareness programmes are
described in the detailed submission. More recently, joint work has been
underway to address specific skills deficits in the ICT sector. An ICT action
plan is currently under development which is multi-level and multi-sectoral
and aims to boost the supply of ICT skills in the short term through an
increase in conversion and up-skilling opportunities as well as measures to
enhance the longer term supply of graduates.
Upskilling and Flexible Access

Maximising the uptake of ICT programmes offered through Springboard and
the national internship scheme is an important part of the ICT action plan.
Springboard, which funds part-time higher education and training
opportunities for the unemployed, strategically targets funding towards
flexible provision in areas where there is identified labour market skills
shortages or growth opportunity.

Enhancing the flexibility of access to higher education for those in
employment is important if Ireland is to mobilise the skills potential of all of
its citizens. Reform of funding mechanisms in higher education and the
development of consistent Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) systems will
support this and will allow for the further development of customised upskilling opportunities which are attractive to Irish enterprise.
Research, Development and Innovation

The higher education sector has a central role in generating the knowledge,
creativity and innovation necessary to support new enterprise opportunities
and contribute to economic recovery. Supporting an environment where
business innovation can flourish requires a sustained focus on company
capabilities in research, innovation and technology and on linking enterprise
with research institutions to deliver innovative market led products. The
skills and innovation needs of business are being supported through
o new strategic alliances in higher education that have the
enhancement of enterprise development as a key objective;
o by entrepreneurship and business support programmes such as
IGNITE (an initiative based in UCC in collaboration with the Cork
County and City Enterprise Boards);
o by the direct sponsorship of PhD students through for example the
IRCRET Enterprise Partnership scheme;
o and by the involvement of employers in the development of
structured doctoral programmes.

Finally, a number of strategic programmes are run by Enterprise Ireland in
the higher education system with a view to commercialising R&D, exploiting
market opportunities and driving innovation.
3