The Employability Paradigm Denis O'Sullivan's Cultural Politics and Irish Education since the 1950's (2006) argues that early school leaving has traditionally been understood as a failure of the individual to succeed within the traditional school. This essay aims to outline and support O'Sullivan's thesis and also show how the political and educational system in Ireland has created a criterion for success which guarantees a certain amount of failure. O'Sullivan (2006) argues that the employability paradigm that emerged in the 1970s served to distinguish a group of students who did not reach the standards needed to secure employment. Employability is the assessment of those who have the least chance of success in an economically motivated nation. It is assumed that intervention is necessary to prevent individuals who have failed within the system from becoming dependent on social welfare and subsequently socially excluded (O'Sullivan 2006). In the early 1970s, Ireland's entry into the European economy and changing labor market combined to link educational attainment to employability. As a result, educational credentials have become the accepted way of assessing ability and this has served to focus attention on those who leave school early with little or no qualifications. O'Sullivan argues that while state policy, on the surface, appeared to support equal opportunities through the provision of free access to secondary education, the reality for most working-class students was far from equitable. Interventions available to those who needed help developing the skills needed to qualify for secondary education were limited, and these students were disenfranchised. The disk...... at the heart of the document ......ing and youth labor markets: a cross-national analysis IN: Blanchflower, D. and Freeman, R. Youth employment and unemployment in advanced countries. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Mac Einri, P. 1997. Some recent demographic developments in Ireland. [Online] Available from: http://migration.ucc.ie/etudesirlandaises.htm [Accessed 7 May 2012]O'Dubhslainé, A. 2006. The Education White Paper: a failure to invest. Financial review of students. 20 p 115O'Sullivan, D. 2006. Irish cultural policy and education since the 1950s. Ireland: Cork University Press.Ronayne, T. 2004. Jobless Regions: Unemployment and Labor Market Policy in Ireland. [Online] Available from: http://www.wrc.ie/publications/regionsw.pdf [Accessed 7 May 2012]Stokes, D. 2004. Submission to the Youth Justice Agency. [Online] Available from: www.youthreach.ie [Accessed 7 May 2012]