New National Skills Strategy in Ireland – Skills demand in the economy, a report

In January 2016, the Government published a new National Skills Strategy – Ireland’s Future – which sets out the Government’s commitment to improving and using skills for sustainable economic growth. It outlines how Ireland can develop a well-skilled, adaptable workforce that contributes to, shares in, and benefits from opportunities of economic expansion.

A critical success factor for the Skills Strategy will be the level of partnership between the education and enterprise sectors. The Strategy is closely aligned with broader Government policies, including Enterprise 2025, Pathways to Work 2016–2020 and the Action Plans for Jobs.

Skills Demand in the Irish Economy

The labour market is constantly evolving, and the specific occupations, skills and qualifications that are required by the economy change over time. Increasingly, there are overlaps in the skills required across different sectors and occupations.

Job descriptions are becoming more fluid, as occupations which may traditionally have been seen to be specialist are requiring a broader mix of skills. Nonetheless, there is a continuing need for

• sector-specific skills,
• cross-sectoral, skills and
• transversal skills (skills that are relevant across the enterprise base).

A mix of these skills types will be needed in the economy to contribute to economic growth. This Guidance groups together these skills types as follows:

Chapters 1 to 4 address cross-sectoral skills which are in demand across different sectors of the economy. These include skills in ICT, Big Data/Data Analytics, Skills for International Trade (including foreign languages, cultural awareness, global sales and marketing) and Engineering Skills.

Chapters 5-12 deal with sector-specific skills for International Financial Services, general Manufacturing, as well as for manufacturing in the Medical Devices, Biopharma-Pharmachem, and the Food & Beverages sectors. These sectoral Chapters also cover skills required for the Construction sector and for the Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality sector.

Chapter 13 addresses Cross-Enterprise, or transversal, skills.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at  Guidance for Higher Education Providers on Current and Future Skills Needs of Enterprise: Springboard+ 2016 – Skills