Education Policy Outlook 2018

Ireland

Context

Ireland scored higher than the OECD average in science in PISA 2015, with a mean score of 502 points, compared to the OECD average of 493 points. Performance in science remained stable across PISA cycles with an average score change of -0.4 score points, while performance in reading and mathematics stayed the same. Socio-economic status had an impact close to the OECD average on science performance in PISA 2015, explaining 12.7% of the variance in performance (OECD average: 12.9%). The impact of ESCS on performance in science has not changed since 2006. Gender differences in science performance were among the highest in the OECD in Ireland, with a difference between boys and girls of 11 points, compared to the average difference across the OECD of 4 points. Immigrant students make up 14.4% of the student population of 15-year-olds in Ireland, close to the OECD average of 12.5%. Unlike in many OECD countries, there was no significant performance gap in PISA 2015 between immigrant and non-immigrant students in science, with a score difference of just 8 points.

Enrolment of 3-year-olds in ECEC was lower than the OECD average in 2015, at 38.3% (OECD average: 77.8%). Pre-primary education is largely provided in private institutions, although from the age of 3 years and 2 months onwards, children are entitled to two years of free pre-primary education, which is funded through government subsidies. Special preschools also exist for children in urban disadvantaged areas (known as the Early Start programme) and for Irish Traveller children. A national curriculum is in place (Aistear) and a set of standards (Síolta) which aim to monitor the quality of education and care provision for those aged 0-6. Compulsory education in Ireland begins at age 6 and ends at age 16, shorter than the typical duration across the OECD. Students are first tracked into different educational pathways at age 15, later than the OECD average of age 14. Upper secondary education in Ireland is a two-year programme with a choice of three streams: the general Leaving Certificate programme (LC); the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP), which has some vocationally oriented subjects; and the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA), which is oriented towards preparation for labour market entry. All three upper secondary programmes lead to the final award of a Leaving Certificate, although the LCA award does not provide direct access to higher education.

VET in Ireland is offered at post-secondary level through apprenticeships and traineeships, specific skills training and alternative or second-chance education. Post Leaving Certificate Courses (PLCs) form a key part of the VET offering. The majority of courses have a duration of one academic year. They offer a combination of general education, vocational training and opportunities for work experience in over 60 subject areas, with the aim of developing specific vocational skills and vocationally oriented further and higher education progression. Around 30 000 students enrol annually in PLCs.

In the OECD Survey of Adult Skills in 2012 and 2015, adult literacy scores in Ireland were 267 points, close to the OECD average of 268 points. The gap in literacy skills between older adults (age 55-65) and younger adults (age 25-34) was lower than the OECD average. The proportion of the population aged 25-64 with lower secondary education as the highest level of attainment is lower than the OECD average, with an attainment rate of 12.4% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 14.3%. NEET rates (the proportion of those aged 18-24 that are neither employed nor in education or training) are higher than the OECD average, at 18.2% compared to the OECD average of 15.3%.

Figure 7.13. Selected indicators compared with the average: Ireland

Note: For each indicator, the absolute performance is standardised (normalised) using a normative score ranging from 0 to 220, where 100 was set at the average, taking into account all OECD countries with available data in each case.

Sources: OECD (2016), PISA 2015 Results (Volume I): Excellence and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264266490-en; OECD (2016), Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264258051-en; OECD (2017), Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-en.

Statlink

Evolution of key education policy priorities

Table 7.13. Evolution of key education policy priorities, Ireland (2008-17)

Identified by	Equity and quality	Preparing students for the future
Selected OECD country-based work, 2008-171	Education outcomes are closely linked to socio-economic status in Ireland. In 2015, 80% of children with an immigrant background were enrolled in 23% of schools. The budget of DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) was cut in recent years. [2013, 2015]	The overall situation of youth has improved, but unemployment and NEET rates remain above OECD and EU averages, as of 2015. Also, high long-term unemployment rates persist, and there seems to be a general under-representation of people with low levels of education and women over 30 in the labour market. The OECD identified the need to provide further training to the former group and to raise the attractiveness of the VET system. Finally, the OECD has reported frequent inequalities in higher education, as young people of working class background are less likely to continue higher education than their peers of middle-class background.[2013; 2015]
Evolution of responses to EPO Surveys, 2013 and 2016‑17	Socio-economically disadvantaged students are facing academic challenges. [2013; 2016-17]	As previously reported, in 2016, during the economic crisis, Ireland was confronted with an increasing youth unemployment rate, which has now started to decline. [2013; 2016-17]

1. See Annex A, Table A A.3 for the list of OECD publications consulted for this snapshot.

Selected education policy responses

Since 2010, Ireland has either implemented or expanded three ECEC policies to increase coverage, especially to benefit low-income families, by providing childcare subventions and an after-school childcare programme (ACSS, 2013). The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) or “free preschool” programme was implemented in 2010 and expanded in 2016 to facilitate access to childcare for all children between age 3 and age 5.5. The government also implemented the Community Childcare Subvention Programme (CCS) for qualifying parentss to reduce the burden of financial costs for disadvantaged families who would like childcare for children at any age while pursuing training or education courses (DCYA, 2014).

• Progress or impact: A total of 104 441 children benefitted from at least one of the following three Irish programmes for ECEC: ECCE, CCS, and Training and Employment Childcare programmes, which include after-school childcare (ACSS). The number of children registered in 2015/16 represented an 8% increase from the 96 508 children enrolled in these programmes during the 2014/15 school year. Specifically regarding the ECCE programme, 73 964 children took part in it in the 2015/16 school year, at a total cost of EUR 178 million. Compared to the 2014/15 school year, this is an increase of almost 13% in participation and 28% in costs. According to the report, the increase can be partly attributed to the announcement of extra entitlements in the 2016 budget (Pobal, 2016).

As part of the ongoing VET reforms, Ireland implemented the Education and Training Boards Bill (2012), which aims to better integrate skills and training into education by replacing the 33 Vocational Education Committees with 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs). Implemented in 2013, The ETBs are overseen by a national representative body, Education and Training Boards Ireland. The services of the further education and training sector (FET) are mainly provided by the ETBs (ETBI, 2017). The programmes develop skills for employed and unemployed individuals, assist students' transition into the workplace and provide literacy and numeracy skills to disadvantaged adults.

• Progress or impact: By mid-2014, the training centres previously operating under the Further Education and Training Authority (An tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Scileanna, known as SOLAS) were transferred to one of the ETBs. The annual FET services plan outlines, among other elements, the programmes and courses to be delivered by the 16 ETBs (EC, 2015b).

Under the FET Act, the Further Education and Training (FET) Authority (SOLAS) took effect in Ireland in 2013, replacing the previous authority (An Foras Áiseanna Saothair, known as FÁS). SOLAS is tasked with proposing a five-year strategy on FET, operating under the Department of Education and Skills. In co‑operation with the 16 ETBs, SOLAS works on the integration, co-ordination and funding of several FET programmes (SOLAS, 2014). The first FET five-year strategy (2014-19) aims to meet the skills needs of the economy and to increase active inclusion, quality provision, integrated planning and funding, and the standing of FET (SOLAS, 2014). SOLAS has published annual FET services plans since 2014. Further FET strategies to improve the quality of VET include the FET Professional Development Strategy (2017-19), the Technology-Enhanced Learning in FET Strategy (2016‑19) and a series of FET programme evaluations that are underway.

• Progress or impact: Regarding the 2014-19 strategy, 231 234 new entrants were registered in 2015, and 369 523 beneficiaries were reached in 19 career clusters. The overall investment was EUR 643.5 million (SOLAS, 2015). By 2016, the number of beneficiaries had increased to 339 283 and the number of new entrants to 245 400, while the budget decreased to EUR 634 million (SOLAS, 2016). The overall budget increased slightly to EUR 638 million in 2017. The number of beneficiaries decreased slightly, to 323 308, with 230 641 new entrants recorded in 33 skills clusters (compared to 19 skills clusters in 2016 (SOLAS, 2017a). As outlined in the 2017 service plan, the focus remained on long-term unemployed persons with low work intensity or limited working hours and the barriers to employment faced by those groups (SOLAS, 2017b).

Since 2011, the Springboard Programme in Ireland has funded free part-time courses in higher education for unemployed individuals in areas with labour market skills shortages. As of the academic year 2017-18, homemakers and employed people can also participate in the programme (HEA and Department of Education and Skills, 2017). Since 2015 the programme also includes skills conversion courses in information and communication technology (ICT), as well as Springboard courses under the umbrella of Springboard+ (Department of Education and Skills, 2017). The ICT Conversion Courses were introduced under the joint Government-Industry ICT Action Plans. The Action Plans, published in 2012 and 2014, contain a range of measures to build the domestic supply of ICT graduates, including the roll out of a full-time intensive ICT skills conversion programme designed and delivered in partnership with industry. Since 2016, the ICT skills conversion programme is available on a part-time basis, enabling those in employment to upskill or reskill in this area. In addition, employed people who wish to upskill or reskill in the Biopharma/Med-tech sector, as well as homemakers, are eligible to apply to participate in Springboard+ 2017. Further expansion to allow all those in employment to access Springboard courses on a free or heavily subsidised basis is planned under Springboard+ 2018.

• Progress or impact: An evaluation of the Springboard+ Programme of 2011-16, states that since 2011 the average participation rate per year was 6 129, with 88% of the available places taken. Springboard+ 2016 provided an additional 5 825 places, and 6 471 places were provided under Springboard+ 2017. From 2011 to 2014, the completion rate of Springboard+ courses was 72%. A significant proportion of the 28% who did not complete courses did so due to taking up employment. The outcomes of 2011-14 show that of the 76% reported outcomes of participants 3-6 months after graduation, 53% were in employment, 19% pursued further study and 28% were looking for work. The highest employment rates were found among participants of the ICT skills conversion classes of 2013 (78%) and 2014 (73%) (HEA, 2016a). The number of graduates from ICT-related programmes at levels 8 to 10 increased from 2 362 in 2012 to 3 341 in 2014, as reported in the 2nd System Performance Report for Higher Education. Also, through Springboard+ and ICT Conversion Courses, more than 3 500 graduates achieved ICT qualifications at levels 6 to 9 in 2014 and 2015 (HEA, 2016b).

Ireland’s Action Plan for Jobs (APJ), introduced in 2012, is the government's annual plan to rebuild the economy and create jobs. With over 270 actions by 15 government departments and 36 state agencies, it presents a number of measures to strengthen education and its links to the labour market, including a review of the apprenticeship training model initiated in 2012. This plan is ongoing, with updates published annually, as well as quarterly progress reports. The latest APJ, introduced in 2017, focuses on seven strategic goals covering regional development, boosting innovation and productivity, and attracting high quality talent to the Irish labour market, with the aim of having up to 45 000 additional people at work in Ireland by the end of 2017 (Irish Department of Business, Enterprises and Innovation, 2017a).

• Progress or impact: In 2014, the OECD published a preliminary review of the APJ. By then, it was found that both the APJ target of 100 000 new jobs by 2016 and the long-term goal of 2.1 million people employed by 2020 were within reach (OECD, 2014c). The employment rate has been increasing in Ireland. Over 2 800 actions were implemented during the previous APJ of 2012-16. Also, Ireland created more than 200 000 jobs from 2012 to 2017. The 2017 report of the Monitoring Committee stated that 81% of all projects slated to be completed in the first quarter of 2017 were accomplished (Irish Department of Business, Enterprises and Innovation, 2017b).

In 2012, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) in Ireland proposed regional clusters of higher education institutions to increase collaboration and co-ordination between higher education institutions and engagement with stakeholders, with implementation beginning from 2014. The first priorities of this strategy are improved academic planning and student pathways. Ireland implemented nine regional Skills Fora to increase engagement and improve matching between skills needs and education provisions. These involve further education and training and higher education providers, as well as other government departments and agencies and employer representatives (HEA, 2016b).

• Progress or impact: The Higher Education System Performance 2014-2016 report points out that progress has been made in academic and student pathways, with variations in performance between the different clusters of institutions in the country. In 2015, the HEA engaged in consultation with the institutions to discuss future steps (HEA, 2016b).

Additional education policies of potential interest to other countries

• Ireland’s Digital Strategy for Schools (2015-20) provides over EUR 200 million in investment in digital technology for schools and is rolling out new initiatives to promote technological education. These include introducing a new computer science subject in upper secondary education in 2018 and adding coding and computational thinking in primary school.

• In 2015, the Minister for Education and Skills announced 25 new apprenticeship programmes, following a call for proposals from industry partners. It was expected that up to 15 of these new apprenticeships would be introduced by the end of 2017, providing more than 800 additional places. To refresh the pipeline of apprenticeship proposals, a second call for proposals was held in 2017. Arising from this, the Minister for Education and Skills announced 26 additional programmes for further development into national apprenticeships in 2017. A new Action plan for apprenticeships 2016-20 intends to continue to expand apprenticeship training.

• A new annual Survey of Student Engagement will provide data to inform institutions about continuous-improvement initiatives. A pilot Employer Survey was conducted in 2014 and a National Employer Survey in 2015. A new Graduate Outcomes Survey is being developed, which intends to incorporate all education institutions, as the current survey only relates to universities and colleges. The new survey will include a longitudinal dimension, and Institutes of Technology will pilot it in 2017.

More information available at: www.oecd.org/education/policyoutlook.htm.