The Government has been urged for AI to be embedded as a “cope component of the education system” by the National Skills Council (NSC) to ensure the Irish workforce can contribute to AI innovation.
In a strategic advice document published by the State agency on Thursday, the NSC suggested upskilling and training be focused on areas in which the use of AI “enhances and augments existing skills and capabilities”.
“The aim should be to improve the productivity of employees, and encourage working with AI technology, rather than replace them,” it said.
The NSC said it was turning its attention to AI and the need “to attract, develop and retain the crucial competencies and talent needed to address the transformational shift of AI in our workforce”.
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It highlighted a study by the Implement Consulting Group for Google, which suggested that matching OECD levels of digital innovation could create 14,000 jobs in the economy and add €1.8 billion to Ireland’s GDP annually.
The advisory body suggested the “AI era” requires new thinking about innovation and Ireland’s competitiveness and proposed the organisation of a National AI Skills Summit.
The advisory body recommended a change to the State’s spending rules to “address the specific purpose” of the fund and to listen to employers in making decisions on allocating the National Training Fund (NTF).
The council suggested the Government create a formal process by which employers can contribute to decision-making on spending on the training fund and what skillsets the state invests in.
It recommended a forum for employers and social partners be reinstated “to support the innovation and reform agenda of higher education to meet the needs of learners, existing and future employees alongside a strategy for implementation.”
Kevin Marshall, the chairman of the council urged the government to “rethink how we invest in skills” and called for the “voice of employers” to be heard in making decisions on the allocation of funds from the NTF.
The NSC advised the Government to establish a national skills observatory to collate skills and labour market information. This would act as the Government’s “central information broker and repository for skills and labour market information”.
Structurally, the advice suggested the observatory would build on the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU) based in SOLAS, and would be “reinforced” by governance from both the Higher Education and Further Education systems.
“This should be supported by a costed and fully considered long-term funding strategy for the apprenticeship system in Ireland,” the NSC said, calling for it to be “urgently prioritised” and issued with “clear timelines”.
It encouraged the government to adopt a multi-year approach to its funding supports and to have transparency in funding decisions.
To encourage SMEs to develop and upskill employees, it recommended the establishment of a national training voucher scheme funded through the NTF and to consider introducing a discretionary fund.
