More pupils are going to college — because it’s worth it

ONE of the consequences of the economic collapse over a decade ago was that more young people stayed in second level school and went to college. And they are still going in ever larger numbers.

Our school drop-out rate has plummeted to a record low while our college participation rate is among the highest in Europe and the world. Official figures reveal a 33pc increase in student numbers from 2007 to 2017 — up from 138,319 to 183,642. They also show that in 2016 almost two-thirds of second level students (64pc) progressed directly to third level either in the same year they took their Leaving Certificate or within four years of so doing. This is a remarkable achievement.

What of the future? The Department of Education and Skills (DES) keeps the figures under constant review and issues revised projections every few years. It also looks at three possible scenarios in the future: keeping the 64pc transfer rate steady; increasing it by 10pc; or seeing a decrease by 10pc.

Whatever way we look at it, enrolments are expected to continue to rise as the demographic bulge works its way through our 723 second level schools (that number is up from 700 in 2013).

It is important that parents of children currently in school consider the impact of this. The peak years for going to college will be 2030/2031. If the current transfer rate holds up, the total number of full-time undergraduate and post graduate students will rise to 222,514 by 2030, just a decade from now. This will mean an extra 38,872 students in the system, or a 21pc increase over the 2017 full-time numbers. If the transfer rate is higher, the system will come under even greater strain to cater for all comers.

That 2030 figure will be made up mainly of students who go to college within four years of taking their Leaving Certificate. On present trends, an increasing number of these going to college will also have further education qualifications. The total enrolment will include mature students as well as those from EU and non-EU countries, Government policy is to increase the number of international students from outside the EU who are charged high tuition fees.

Can the country afford all these extra Irish and other overseas students? Higher education is an expensive business both for the individual student and for the State.

It is also an increasing charge on employers who now have to pay 1pc of their payroll costs into the National Training Fund (NTF). The rapid rise in the numbers at work has meant the NTF now has a lot more money to spare than envisaged when the decision was taken a few years back to increase the levy on employers in order to ease the burden of meeting some of costs of higher education. It is rapidly building up to a €1bn fund to help pay the cost of both further and higher education.

Some €300m is being earmarked for the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) which virtually all the higher education institutions — public and private — are currently bidding for a slice of.

Among the aims of the initiative are increased provision in areas of identified skills need for enterprise, and the future-proofing of graduates with industry-relevant skills for emerging technologies.

Employers are insisting on a greater bang for their buck, or levy, in return — with more emphasis on skills. In a survey last year the most frequently needed skills cited by employers were computer literacy — incorporating IT, software, web and graphic design and digital marketing skills. They also cited business acumen/management skills, engineering skills, accounting and marketing.

Higher education in Ireland, just like other countries, faces complaints that graduates lack the skills that employers need; that there is a mismatch between the main areas of study and available jobs; that graduates are often overqualified for the jobs they have; and that too many go into higher education when they should be taking more practical and vocational courses.

There is some truth to these claims. But what’s also true is that employers in this country are generally happy with the calibre of graduates. This was confirmed in the Irish National Employer Survey carried out for SOLAS and the Higher Education Authority which was published last year. It found of the 760 employers surveyed by Fitzpatrick Associates, three-quarters had taken on staff in the previous 24 months. Most employers (86pc) said they were generally happy with the quality of their higher education graduates while almost the same percentage (84pc) were generally happy with their further education graduates.

Four out of five employers were satisfied with graduates in terms of professionalism and work ethic, reliability, positive attitude, ethical and social awareness, adaptability and flexibility, and ability to cope with work pressure. Foreign-owned firms were less satisfied with Irish graduates’ foreign languages skills capacity. Salary expectations were citied as a barrier to recruitment by one in 20 employers.

The overall positive outlook was mirrored in the latest HEA report on graduates and jobs which accounts for those who qualified in 2017. Of those, 14pc were engaged in further study and 78pc were working or due to start a job, most of them in Ireland.

Of course, there are many things wrong in further and higher education in Ireland. But with positive employer satisfaction and high job placements for Irish graduates, the system is clearly doing a lot right.