Chinese qualifications to be recognised in Ireland

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In a move designed to ease the skills shortage in the economy, it has been announced that Chinese higher education qualifications are to be fully recognised in Ireland by the end of the year. The agreement would also allow Irish people to seek posts in China relevant to their qualifications.

Making the announcement yesterday at the European Consortium of Accreditation summer workshop in Dublin, Séamus Puirseil, chief executive of the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (Hetac), said: “The Irish were treated with great generosity of spirit when they went abroad to live and work. Now there is an obligation on us to show the same generosity to the thousands of workers from abroad who are coming here.

“Our economic prosperity has created great wealth and a demand for labour that cannot be met from our own population. The new entrants to our workforce from overseas are a valuable asset to our economy and society. But they must not be confined to menial or low-level jobs when they have qualifications that will increase their earning potential and career development.”

Puirseil continued: “A laboratory technician from Poland or a nurse from Latvia, for example, should not be confined to low-paid, repetitive employment in Ireland because their qualifications are not recognised. People should not come to Ireland and be forced into the sort of jobs we are not prepared to do. If foreign workers have qualifications, they are entitled to do the jobs they are qualified for.”