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Workforce Availability in Ireland

• A particular feature of Ireland is the availability of a young well-educated workforce.

• The proportion of persons aged 25-34 in Ireland with 3rd level education rose from 27.1% in 1999 to 39.4% in 2004.  The corresponding EU rate was 24.8%.

• In recent years high levels of immigration from Central Europe has further deepened the skills base in Ireland.

• In the 2005 World Competitiveness Report, Ireland was ranked 3rd out of 60 countries surveyed for productivity per person and 2nd out of 60 countries surveyed for its education system meeting the needs of a competitive economy.

• Labour costs in Ireland are among the most competitive in the western world.

The Irish Government invests heavily in the development of commercially oriented skills and there are approximately 125,000 people in full-time third level education in Ireland

• 81% of Irish students’ complete second-level and approx 50% go on to higher education - one of the highest educational participation rates in the world;

• Over 39% of Irish people aged 25-34 have a third level education. This rate is among the top five in the EU;

• 48,000 graduated from Irish Universities in 2004.  Of these almost 57% are graduates with qualifications in Engineering, Computer/Software Engineering, Business Studies and Science,

• Ireland has the highest output of Science and Engineering graduates within Europe.

In the Shannon Region, the University of Limerick (UL) is one of the foremost Technological Universities in Ireland.  12,000 students are enrolled in full and part-time degree programmes up to Doctorate Level.  UL operates one of the largest mandatory co-operative education programmes in the EU.  2000 students are placed each year – 30% of them abroad.