The employability paradigm Denis O'Sullivan's book, Cultural Politics and Irish Education since the 1950s (2006), advances the argument that abandonment Early schooling has traditionally been understood as a failure of the individual to succeed in mainstream education. This essay aims to describe and support O'Sullivan's argument and also to show how the Irish political and educational system has created a standard of success that guarantees a certain amount of failure. O'Sullivan (2006) argues that the employability paradigm which emerged in the 1970s, served to distinguish a group of students who did not reach the level required to secure employment. Employability is the assessment of those who have the lowest chances of success in an economically driven nation. It posits that intervention is needed to prevent individuals who have failed the system from becoming dependent on welfare and subsequently being socially excluded (O'Sullivan 2006). In the early 1970s, Ireland's entry into the European economy and changes in the labor market combined to link educational attainment to employability. As a result, qualifications became the accepted way of assessing ability, helping to focus attention on those leaving school early with few or no qualifications. O'Sullivan argues that although state policy appeared, on the surface, to support equality of opportunity with free access to secondary education, the reality for most working-class students was far from this. fair. Available interventions were limited for those who needed help to develop the skills needed to benefit from access to secondary education and these students were disenfranchised. The disc...... middle of article ......ing and youth labor markets: a cross-national analysis IN: Blanchflower, D. and Freeman, R. Youth employment and unemployment across countries advances. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mac Einri, P. 1997. Some recent demographic developments in Ireland. [Online] Available at: http://migration.ucc.ie/etudesirlandaises.htm [Accessed May 7, 2012] O'Dubhslainé, A. 2006. The White Paper on education: a failure of investment. Student Economic Review. 20 p 115O'Sullivan, D. 2006. Irish cultural policy and education since the 1950s. Ireland: Cork University Press. Ronayne, T. 2004. Workless regions: unemployment and labor market policy in Ireland. [Online] Available at: http://www.wrc.ie/publications/regionsw.pdf [Accessed 7 May 2012] Stokes, D. 2004. Submission to the Youth Justice Agency. [Online] Available at: www.youthreach.ie [Accessed May 7 2012]