Summary of ideas submitted in the Education category…

• The Government should allow everyone a voluntary tax free contribution to the schools they attended as they went through the education system; this would generate significant funds for schools.
• The Government should collate a register of qualified ‘trainers’ willing to give free training courses in the community to promote skills like drawing, design, basic engineering and green technology,
• The Government should create an agency to place graduates into the working environment immediately on graduation.
• The government should establish a realistic future skills needs database.
• The Government should launch an apprenticeship scheme should and stipulate that all companies in Ireland with over 50 employees or more need an apprenticeship programme in place by Jan 2010.
• The Government should sponsor further education for unemployed post-graduate students.
• The secondary school syllabus should incorporate a Life Studies/Life Skills subject.
• The state should launch a network of pre-schools. This would reduce the need for an expensive private crèche system and allow parents to return to work.
• The state should only finance third level education for the top achievers and bottom earners.
• Traditional media, i.e. newspapers, radio stations etc, should be encouraged by favorable tax treatments or whatever, to employ new talent.
• Transition students should be encouraged to come up with ideas and work with innovators on company placements
• Transition year in our secondary school system should be scrapped and replaced with a mandatory gap year for all students where they would work in the community etc.
• Twin every university/IT with a college in China
• Unemployed accountants, solicitors, architects and other professionals could help educate or train others while they are out of work.
• Unemployed teachers and special needs assistants should give some volunteer time in schools.
• Universities/ITs with fewer than 10,000 students should be closed down and amalgamated with other institutions
• University Alumni should be employed to promote Ireland as a centre for R&D
• Use computer games to teach children about different careers
• Use our space hotel accommodation and attractive meeting rooms as lecture rooms to teach English.
• Use state of the art computer software to teach foreign languages.
• Use university infrastructure during the summer months to upskill people on the job seekers benefit.
• Volunteers should prepare soup and other school meal snacks.
• Work placement modules should become a part of every higher/third level course.