A recent report from Euronews should be a cause for concern for all EU citizens, especially those living in Ireland. The shortage of skilled workers is a pressing issue throughout the continent, as more and more employers are finding it difficult to hire individuals with specific expertise.
In fact, 75% of employers in 21 European countries report difficulties in recruiting suitable workers, a significant increase from the 42% reported in 2018. This sharp rise in just a few years is alarming. Among the nations struggling with this problem, Ireland is the most severely impacted. In 2018, 18% of employers faced challenges in finding skilled workers, but today, that number has surged to 81%.
This raises the question: What is causing this trend?
After all, this is Ireland we are discussing: a country renowned for its very decent education system. As a recent study conducted by TutorSpace highlights, Ireland ranks third in Europe in terms of the quality and accessibility of education. The evaluation was based on various factors, including the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores, education quality and access, higher education and research, literacy and digital literacy, as well as government investment.
Estonia secured the top position with the highest PISA scores in mathematics and science, achieving a total score of 91.86 for education quality and access. Students in Estonia typically spend an average of 13.55 years in the education system, with the government allocating approximately 14.35% of its expenditure to education. Switzerland claimed the second position with a category score of 84.92 and the second-highest mathematics score. The Swiss government dedicates 14.24% of its expenditure to education, while students spend around 13.86 years in the school system. Ireland followed closely in third place with a total score of 84.78 and the highest reading score among the top 15 countries.
On average, Irish students spend 11.58 years immersed in the education system. Elementary school students in Ireland typically spend five hours and 40 minutes daily on their education, including all breaks and assembly time. Although the Irish education system certainly has its flaws, it doesn’t appear to be the reason why a skills shortage exists.
To understand the problem, we have to zoom out and view it through a much broader lens. Education doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is just one component of success. To keep a young, educated individual satisfied, a degree is not enough. An abundance of opportunities must also exist.
Specifically, the ability to purchase a home, for example. To save enough cash. The opportunity to start a family without going into debt. Sadly, Ireland is currently consumed by two crises: a cost of living crisis and a housing crisis. It’s little good having a degree if you can’t afford to put a roof over your head. As for buying a home — ya, well, think again. To compound matters, although the cost of living is going up, wages are lagging well behind inflation rates.
Take all these factors into account and it’s easy to see why the country has experienced high levels of ‘brain drain’, with an increasing number of young, educated Irish people graduating from college and bringing their skills overseas. “Yes,” some will say, “but aren’t there plenty of people entering Ireland from abroad, and don’t many of them have college degrees?”
There are certainly plenty of people entering Ireland, that is for sure — but whether or not many of these individuals actually possess the skills and qualifications that the country needs is not exactly clear. After all, if they did, would 81% of employers be struggling to find people with necessary skills?
Which begs another rather important question: What sort of skills are employers seeking?
According to a report by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the country is in desperate need of IT and telecommunications specialists, more health and social services personnel, chemical scientists, medical laboratory scientists, biological scientists and physical scientists.
Ireland is also low on engineers. This includes civil engineers, structural and site engineers, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers,
We need more radiographers, radiation therapists, podiatrists, audiologists, and cardiac physiologists, as well as registered nurses and midwives
This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed — urgently.
Not only are Ireland’s youngest and brightest going abroad, the country is experiencing a rapid aging of its population, surpassing any other European country, due to a decline in birth rates. Less than twenty years from now, one-third of the working population will be aged 65 or older. This is not a tenable position.
To prosper economically, a nation must find a way to not just educate its people, it must find a way to retain them. By doing so, it gives us to the creative class. This group comprises professionals such as AI experts, physicians, physicists, mathematicians, engineers and so on.
These individuals possess a valuable asset known as creative capital. In other words, they have the ability to generate fresh concepts, innovative technologies, groundbreaking business models and even brand new industries. They are, in many ways, the backbone of a thriving, modern day economy.
Sadly, Ireland’s backbone appears to be badly damaged, bent completely out of shape. The prognosis is anything but healthy.