Debate contribution: Retaining and Inspiring Young Talent

Debate contribution by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on 24 June 2024.

MLA

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

24 June 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Retaining and Inspiring Young Talent

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4497543

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Has the Minister responded? Will he be in attendance?

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I think that we all agree that it is no surprise that some of our young people want to spread their wings once they leave school. Moving abroad can offer no end of new opportunities and experiences. I do not think that any of us would begrudge our young people who want to leave in search of different and new experiences. I have two daughters, both of whom moved away, but I am hopeful — fingers crossed — that Aoife, who is in her early 30s, will return home quite soon. I understand why young people leave in search of new horizons. However, that having been said, there is no doubt that a real and pressing problem exists in our society and economy today when it comes to the sheer number of young people who are forced to leave our shores every year. They cannot set up the life here that they want because they cannot pursue the careers that they want here and because there are not the university places for them here, either. As has been well documented, each year, the number of those young people stands at around 5,000. We know that two thirds of them do not return after their degree. An entire university's worth of students from Northern Ireland is currently studying across the water in Britain. That is self-sabotage. It is self-inflicted by government policy that drives our young people away and fails to tackle the root causes of the systemic issues that push them away. As has been outlined by the think tank Pivotal, those challenges include the fact that they are fed up with a segregated and divided society and are frustrated by the sectarian tensions that are still all too prevalent in our communities. Too often, the external perception of this place is that it is somewhere that still has not moved on and cannot get its act together. It is a feeling that is, no doubt, compounded by watching our political instability at home and from afar. As I have said, when things get too hard, the big parties sometimes take turns at bringing this place down and preventing any form of strong leadership or positive change. That would not incentivise anyone to come home. Arresting the brain drain will require tackling those root causes, breaking down segregation, integrating our society and reforming our politics. However, it is important to say that it is not just a cultural issue. We are not just talking about it because we would like our young people to stay; the brain drain is a handbrake on our economy. It has a direct and profound impact on our low rate of productivity, which has repeatedly been our Achilles heel in this part of the world. According to the Productivity Institute, Northern Ireland's productivity level is 75% of the EU average and only around half the level experienced in the South. Its findings are clear: the brain drain has fuelled the low presence of highly skilled workers, which undermines our productivity time and again. Of course, it is not the only contributing factor; the low level of educational attainment among school leavers is also a significant challenge. For many years, we have suffered from chronically low levels of skills here that are rooted in educational underachievement. That is an issue that we have referenced in the motion. It is only compounded by the educational migration from these shores.

There can be little doubt that the brain drain is fuelled by the lack of investment in skills and education by the Government over recent years. Queen's University alone has suffered a cut of almost £50 million in real terms in the past 10 years. That university is generating over £3 billion for the economy and leading the world in advanced manufacturing, ICT, creative industries and digital industries. What other jurisdiction is cutting higher education and investment in skills? The answer is none — certainly none that is serious about growing a knowledge-based economy. Given the expected growth in the number of 18-year-olds by the end of the decade, it is completely counterproductive. The brain drain and lack of investment in higher education have particular consequences in a place such as Derry. That we are continuing to export a university's worth of students while failing to build the promised university in our own second city is pure madness. It is sabotaging the economy as a whole that we are not producing the skilled graduates of the future, who are needed for our economy. That is pure madness and has to stop. When the previous Minister was leaving office, he announced a full review of higher education funding, but this Minister has rolled back on that commitment. Having somewhat praised the DUP, I have to be honest about its amendment and say that I really fail to understand the point of it. Removing the Minister of Education's responsibility for this issue borders on irresponsible. We need everyone working together on this, especially the two Ministers who are clearly responsible for the area. I also do not comprehend the logic of removing the duty to collaborate with the Irish Government. Does the DUP not want all young people to be able to easily study at Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin (UCD) or the University of Galway? Why take opportunities and possibilities away on a small island? Barriers already exist to cross-border mobility that none of us should be prepared to stand over. In 2020-21, students from the South made up 2·4% of students in Northern Ireland compared with only 0·6% of students in Ireland being from Northern Ireland. The reasons for that are many and well-documented. Universities in the South are already difficult to access. Recent progress by the Irish Government on the need for a fourth full A level is welcome. That followed calls from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the Royal Irish Academy. However, there are still a range of barriers and questions to answer about whether the system remains too restrictive. Anyone who has read the ESRI report on the issue will know that it also raised concerns that the small number of pupils in Northern Ireland studying languages impacted on the eligibility of our young people to take up certain courses. In response to questions for written answer, the Minister of Education does not appear to have accepted that as a barrier. He may not have engaged with the research, but it is clear that we need to arrest the decline in the study of modern languages if we are going to give more young people the opportunities that they deserve. There is also a timing issue in that UCAS offers are made two weeks before those made by the Central Applications Office (CAO), driving more students to the UK system. Furthermore, schools must be fully supported to provide careers advice that includes guidance on the system in the South and the opportunities that exist on their doorstep. It seems strange that the DUP would not want to get a grip on those issues and break down those barriers for the people whom they represent as well. We have only a short time in this mandate, and already we have said more times than I can count that there is nothing to fear from collaboration. At the core of this issue is opportunity and freedom of choice for all our young people. As they leave school, everyone should have the freedom to move away, whether across the sea or across the border, but they should also have the freedom to stay and pursue their passions right here at home, contributing to the place where they were born and raised and driving economic growth. Both choices are fair and legitimate but we need to make sure that a choice really does exist and that no one is pushed away. Whatever designation you deem yourself to be, it is in everyone's interests for Northern Ireland to work. That includes building a society where no one has to move away. That starts with putting on paper a strategy that is co-produced, ambitious and comprehensive. I hope that all parties will back the motion.

1,394 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:48 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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