Educated workforce will shape economy after crisis
Let's be positive. At some stage in the next few years (depending on your economist of choice), Ireland will recover from its present difficulties and our creative and well-educated workforce will shape the new global economy that will emerge from the current crisis.
Our graduates will develop, enhance and use products and services in fields ranging from architectural design to nanotechnology to zoology.
This summer is proving tough for those who have just graduated. Many are taking jobs in fields unrelated to their course of study and which, in recent years, were filled by those less qualified. Graduate unemployment is up as in all sectors and many are choosing to stay in college for postgraduate study to avoid a difficult employment market.
That said, those who leave school early are up to four times more likely to be unemployed as those with at least a degree under their belt. Graduates, on average, will also earn over 60pc more than non-graduates.
It is of serious concern that some in Irish society will not be in a position to benefit from the educational and technological revolution that is now happening.
Those who left school early in the past could find employment in manual labour or in basic manufacturing. Those opportunities will not be there when the upturn comes. The change that is happening in our society is structural, not cyclical.
We've got to position ourselves now so that we can meet the needs of the next decade. Put bluntly, we need more graduates in certain key areas of national and global strategic importance.
Unemployed
The announcement by Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe of 1,500 new part-time undergraduate places and 1,000 postgraduate places in higher education institutions around Ireland for persons who are unemployed is a very positive step in the right direction.
But to those in second level who are contemplating leaving school early and not continuing with their education, I have to ask: "Do you want a lifetime of unemployment or poorly paid occasional work?"
Because if you leave education early today, the answer is "Yes". There is unlikely to be a place for you in the "smart economy".
The smart economy is based on a highly skilled and highly capable population. This is our route out of recession.
Our challenge is to compete and win against other countries in terms of our strategic capital investments and in terms of improving our knowledge, skills and productivity.
All this may be of little consolation to today's graduate who is finding it difficult to obtain a job.
But that graduate, if adaptable, will be much more likely to be in or creating sustainable employment with long-term career prospects when things improve.
Tom Boland is the chief executive of the Higher Education Authority
- Tom Boland
