This grant will support participation in 57 undergraduate courses offered by IUA universities this year, covering areas of national importance.
The IUA, the Irish Universities Association, has welcomed the announcement made by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, confirming the 2026 Micro-credential Fee Subsidy.
Designed to support lifelong learning and create opportunities for students, the grant will support the participation of 57 micro-credential courses offered by IUA universities in 2026, covering nationally important areas such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, sustainability, leadership, innovation, healthcare, engineering and business development.
Commenting on the announcement, IUA director general Paul Johnston said: “The reintroduction of the Micro-credential Learner Fee Subsidy is very welcome.
“By reducing the cost of participating in these courses for employees and their employers, the funding makes university education more accessible to individuals while helping their companies, especially SMEs with limited training budgets, to invest skills of their employees.”
According to the group, minority guarantees and support for learning skills are essential to the wider education system as, by 2025 when the previous funding was withdrawn, enrollment in minority courses had dropped by almost 40 percent across all five universities.
In addition, universities have faced increasing pressure to continue courses, as some programs in nationally important skill areas have not been able to continue due to insufficient enrollment. These courses were mainly in areas such as climate and sustainability, housing and construction, engineering, digital power, innovation and leadership.
The IUA finds that consistent, multi-year funding can give universities the confidence to plan ahead, replicate successful courses, invest in new provision and respond more effectively to emerging skills needs. It will also support the target set by the European Union to achieve a 60pc adult participation rate in education by 2030.
Johnston said, “At the moment there is no certainty beyond this year. Therefore we will ask the Ministry of Higher and Higher Education, Research, Strategies and Science and the Council of Higher Education to put this funding in a stable situation, which works every year.
“The long-term commitment will provide reassurance to students considering investment in their own development, to employers looking to build the skills of their workforce and to universities looking to sustain and grow the offer of high-quality flexible learning. Most importantly, it will send a clear signal that lifelong learning is becoming a permanent and important feature of Ireland’s education and skills system.”
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