The Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, has insisted the reintroduction of college fees remains off the agenda, despite a new skills report that proposes much wider participation at third level.
The skills report says the percentage of Leaving Cert students proceeding to third level must increase from 55 to 72 per cent by 2020. But it does not provide a costing for this recommendation.
Yesterday, Ms Hanafin expressed confidence that the State would be able to bear the cost of thousands of additional students without recourse to fees. The abolition of fees had already helped to widen access and boost skills, she said.
The report from the Expert Group on Future Skills provides advice to Government on skills needs in 2020.
The report has three key recommendations:
A significant upskilling for those in the workforce, with some 500,000 needing to gain additional education and training;
Greater expansion of educational opportunity for all, with lower drop-out rates from second-level and much higher participation in third-level;
An expanded role for women and migrant workers in the economy.
The report says the implementation of this strategy will help to secure the future competitive advantage of Ireland and boost future growth in productivity and living standards.
The expert group recommends that 93 per cent of the Irish labour force should have qualifications at, or above, Leaving Certificate level by 2020, and that at least 48 per cent should have a third- or fourth-level (postgraduate) qualification by then.
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, said: "This report provides a comprehensive vision for Ireland's future skills requirements and provides a strategic framework from which the relevant Government departments and State agencies can build."
Ms Hanafin said: "The report identifies central challenges in ensuring a continuing supply of the skills needed for our future competitiveness and prosperity.
"These challenges span the entire education system. They relate to the output and quality of higher education; raising school completion rates and educational attainment; ensuring through curriculum development, quality assurance, teacher education and other supports that we enhance the educational outcomes for young people; and providing alternative, additional and flexible educational opportunities for those already in the workforce or finished formal education."
Last night, the Council of Directors of the Institutes of Technology welcomed the report.
The skills challenge, the council said, would be a defining issue for Government and the higher education sector over the next 10 years.
"We have a lamentably poor record in upskilling the over-35 workforce to date. We cannot afford to be complacent. Jobs are already being lost," the council added.
The following are the main recommendations of the Expert Group on Future Skills:
An additional 500,000 will need to be upskilled and to progress by at least one level above their current level of education and training;
The Leaving Certificate retention rate for young people should rise from 82 per cent to 90 per cent;
The progression from second to third-level education should increase from 55 per cent to 72 per cent;
Greater integration of immigrants into the education and training system at all levels;
Career guidance and mentoring for those at work;
Assistance for individuals and companies in identifying their skills needs;
More awareness programmes that highlight the benefits of education and training.
Source: Tomorrow's Skills- Towards a National Skills Strategy