To Be Honest

An education outreach officer writes

No-show students missing a life lesson

I am involved in a professional institution that works to further the sharing of engineering knowledge. We are a group that organises information events for our members and the public .

In general, our events are very well supported, with the exception of lectures that are aimed at students. Despite the cries in the media about how difficult it is for graduates, our experience is that our third-level institutions do not seem to be too bothered about trying to give our graduates the type of insight needed to get gainful employment. One of the most recent trends that has developed over the past five years has been the spectre of large numbers of jobs in foreign direct investment in Ireland going to overseas graduates.

For example, employers such as Google source most of their graduates from overseas. It seems odd that this is not sending shudders down the extremely well-paid spines of our third-level lecturing staff and leadership. Several industrial leaders have been at pains to state that our graduates are just not being primed for the opportunities that are available here.

We recently asked four senior executives if they would address college students on the skills needed to get work in this challenging economy.

We contacted all of the universities in Dublin, as well as a dozen direct academic contacts. So far so good. We got a reasonable registration rate (approximately 70 students) to our evening event.

The venue was a city-centre lecture hall which was near a large number of colleges. The speakers were outstanding, with incredibly inspiring stories of start-ups and how to create the type of impression that took all four – two were about 30 years old – to the top of the business world.

There was only one snag. The students did not turn up. Of the 70 students who registered, 10 bothered to make it. Apart from the embarrassment that so few turned up, we are still baffled why Irish graduates seems to have no interest in what industrial leaders want from them. Undoubtedly we will hear stories of emigration and hardship, but the truth is that based on my own experience of organising dozens of such events in the past seven years, we have created a monster.

Our third-level system is a bubble that is divorced from reality, that prevents our young people from hearing about what is needed rather than hearing from academics and others who are not in a position to offer the vast majority of them anything after graduation.

People working in the private sector finance third-level education in Ireland. What they think should count. At present, it is only their money that counts. Their money, like their patience, is beginning to wear thin.

* This column is designed to give a voice to those within the education system who wish to speak out anonymously. Contributions are welcome. Email sflynn@irishtimes.com