Too much emphasis on third level education, Minister admits

There has been too much focus on third level education and not enough on alternative career development routes, a Minister acknowledged in the Dáil on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Education Damien English said during the boom years the State had turned its back in on the further education and training sector.

“I get a sense that most people recognise that we have to correct that. And certainly there is a desire on our behalf to do that.”

But he said “there is a big challenge here to convince parents and decision makers and students of the options here and to let them see that there are many different routes to developing their career”.

Fine Gael TD David Stanton said there was a perception of a “huge emphasis on directing young people into third-level education in Ireland”.

The Cork East TD asked if there were “any plans to try and rebalance that because third level isn’t for everybody”.

Mr English agreed “there has been too much emphasis on third level education” and the State had turned its back during the boom years, and over the last 20 years on the further education and training sector.

He said there was a need to have a “proper blend of further education and training along with higher education”.

But he said there had been a 40 per cent increase over the last two years in the number of apprentices and that was expected to increase for each of the next three years until 2018. There is now an emphasis on trying to correct that with a five-year plan, Mr English added.

As of the end of April this year there are 7,398 people in apprenticeships, the Minister said. Of that number 1,521 are in construction, 2,724 are in the electrical sector and 1,340 are engineering apprentices. He said 1,792 apprentices are in the motoring sector and 21 are working in the printing sector.

The Apprenticeship Council had received 86 proposals from 48 organisations on what sectors apprenticeships should be expanded in.

The manufacturing and engineering sectors accounted for 24 submissions with proposals from areas including the built environment, tourism, sport and financial services.

Mr English said “young people need to be provided with a broad range and training options, but the apprenticeships have to be employer-led and driven” and the apprenticeships had to sustainable and viable.

The council will report this month and then establish what has to be done to set up new apprenticeship courses.

Mr English said they did not have a target in each area but that for hauliers 1,000 extra drivers were needed every year for the next four or five years because it had been assessed by the Department of Enterprise.

Sinn Féin education spokesman Jonathan O’Brien said he was fully supportive of the changed approach.

He added: “We need to diversify the type of apprenticeship models that are out there and need to be looking of future trends and what’s coming down the road.”

Mr O’Brien said they had to ensure that people were skilled so that “when there is a crash in a particular sector people can side step into a different sector quickly and easily”.

The Minister said the strategy was to have managed apprenticeships taking account of current and future needs and to do this in conjunction with the Institutes of Technology and other providers.