Parliamentary Question to the Minister for Education and Skills

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the recent report  carried out by employers groups that shows a concern of writing ability of  Irish graduates; if he will be acting on this report to address the issue; and  if he will make a statement on the matter.
 

Reply from Minister Ruairí Quinn T.D

As part of the implementation of the National Strategy for Higher Education,
IBEC, in cooperation with the Higher Education Authority and higher education
institutions, completed the first pilot national survey of employers in
December 2012. The overall results of the survey, which are available on the
HEA website (www.hea.ie), were very positive, with over 75% of companies
expressing confidence that graduates have the right workplace and transferable
skills and relevant subject or discipline knowledge. While satisfaction levels
with written communications was lower than in other specific skill areas, only
14% of employers reported being dissatisfied with these skills.

The National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 includes ease in written
communication as one of the key generic skills that students should acquire
during their undergraduate education. Support of the implementation of the
Strategy recommendations in relation to improving this and other teaching and
learning quality outcomes will be a key priority of the new National Forum for
Teaching and Learning which I launched last November.