IUA Welcomes Reintroduction of Micro-credential Learner Fee Subsidy and Calls for Long-Term Commitment

The Irish Universities Association (IUA) welcomes the recent announcement of the 2026 Micro-credential Learner Fee Subsidy. The subsidy will support participation in 57 micro-credential courses offered by IUA universities this year, spanning areas of national importance including digital transformation, artificial intelligence, sustainability, leadership, innovation, healthcare, engineering and business development.

These courses build on the IUA-led MicroCreds initiative, which supported over 20,000 learners to upskill and reskill via more than 600 micro-credential courses across the seven IUA universities.

Commenting on the announcement, IUA Director General Paul Johnston said: “The reintroduction of the Micro-credential Learner Fee Subsidy is very welcome. It represents an important investment in lifelong learning, workforce development and Ireland’s future competitiveness. By reducing the cost of participation in these courses by workers and their employers, the subsidy makes university learning more accessible to individuals while also helping their companies, particularly SMEs with limited training budgets, to invest in the skills of their workforce.”

The subsidy plays a dual role within lifelong learning. While it helps stimulate learner demand by improving affordability, it also provides an important level of financial certainty for universities seeking to sustain and expand their own flexible learning provision. This is particularly important in an environment where many courses rely on achieving sufficient enrolments to remain viable and where demand can be highly sensitive to price.

This sensitivity became evident following the withdrawal of the previous subsidy in late 2025, when registrations on micro-credential courses fell by almost 40% across five universities. Universities also faced growing pressure on course viability, with some programmes in areas of national skills priority — including climate and sustainability, housing and construction, engineering, digital capability, innovation and leadership — unable to proceed due to insufficient enrolments. SMEs were disproportionately affected, as many are more reliant on the subsidy to support employee participation in upskilling and reskilling opportunities.

“Our experience over the past eighteen months demonstrates the vital role that the subsidy plays in supporting participation and sustaining provision,” Mr Johnston said.

“When the subsidy was withdrawn, participation fell significantly and the viability of some courses came under pressure. That matters not only for learners and universities, but for the wider economy, because many of these courses are designed specifically to respond to skills needs in strategically important sectors.”

Recent sectoral analysis shows that universities are more optimistic about the future growth of micro-credentials and thus more likely to plan for that when the learner fee subsidy is available on a predictable basis. A stable, multi-annual subsidy would provide universities with the confidence to plan ahead, repeat successful courses, invest in new provision and respond more effectively to emerging skills needs.

The European Union has set a target of achieving a 60% adult participation rate in learning by 2030. Achieving this ambition in Ireland will require sustained investment in learners, employers and universities alike, recognising that growing participation depends on both stimulating demand and sustaining the supply of high-quality opportunities.

“Ireland is seeking to strengthen competitiveness, improve productivity, accelerate digital and green transitions and build a stronger culture of lifelong learning. Meeting these ambitions will require more people engaging in education and training throughout their lives,” Mr Johnston said. “As Ireland begins its EU presidency, it can show real leadership here”.

“We welcome the return of the subsidy for 2026, but there is currently no certainty beyond this year. We would therefore call on the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Higher Education Authority to place the subsidy on a stable, multi-annual footing.”

“A longer-term commitment would provide certainty for learners considering an investment in their own development, for employers seeking to build workforce capability, and for universities seeking to sustain and grow high-quality flexible learning provision. Most importantly, it would send a clear signal that lifelong learning is becoming a permanent and valued feature of Ireland’s education and skills system.”

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