Mr Butler first outlined some of the major features of the Irish education system. These included the fact that the policy of successive Governments had resulted in education now receiving the third highest budget of any Government Department.
In the context of education structure there was a very heavy emphasis on traditional approaches, ie. full-time, September to June each year with little attention given to adult education. There was also a growing trend of private education facilities.
On balance Ireland had a well–educated young workforce, although 20% of students failed to complete second level school. Problems also existed in relation to poor language skills and a decline in the number of students taking science subjects.
In regard to adult education Mr Butler pointed out that only 50% of the adult workforce had completed second level education and Ireland had second lowest adult literacy/numeracy skills levels in OECD countries.
Mr. Butler then outlined current labour market trends. He said Ireland now had a 6% vacancy rate across all sectors and that domestic sources of potential labour were drying up rapidly. There would be an increasing emphasis on attracting immigrants to Ireland. The Government estimated that 340,000 (10% of the population) would need to immigrate to Ireland between now and 2006 to fill job vacancies.
There was growing evidence of initiatives to promote linkages between industry and education to meet the growing needs of the labour market. Industry was prepared to invest in educating its employees and third level education institutions were demonstrating increased flexibility in course provision and modes of delivery. It was crucial that this progress be maintained.