To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail the discussions she has had and intends to have with Ulster University to ensure that the further and higher education sectors continue to play a key role in the response to COVID-19, raising skills levels and increasing productivity of the future workforce, and examining ways to ensure greater alignment between study and the needs of the economy, specifically in relation to the Coleraine campus.

I met with the Vice Chancellor of the University, Paul Bartholomew on 3rd February 2021 to discuss the University’s strategic plans for all of its campuses and have requested sight of same. While enrolments and qualifications in STEM subjects have increased over the last decade, I am aware of the need to ensure that the supply of graduates is better aligned with the needs of the local economy. The Northern Ireland Skills Barometer indicates that higher education skills at level 6 and above are, in general, only marginally undersupplied when compared with the overall quantum required by the labour market. However, there are significant imbalances across individual subject areas, with some of the largest undersupply predicted in STEM subjects. Northern Ireland’s universities are aware of this undersupply, and have taken measures in recent years to rebalance their provision, with the result that enrolments and qualifications in STEM subjects have been increasing over the past number of years. In 2012/13, 22% of students at Northern Ireland’s higher education institutions were studying a narrow STEM related subject, with 45% studying a broad STEM related subject. By 2018/19, these figures had increased to 25.9% and 55.5% respectively. My Department is engaged in a number of initiatives to encourage this alignment, including: the provision of information to prospective students; the development of degree level apprenticeships; and funding short-term courses in priority economic sectors.