IRELAND HAS A rich heritage in the arts and culture, one that has been lauded internationally for decades and upon which we have earned a great reputation and tourism sector. But in our efforts to promote the arts we have been slow to tap into our scientific and research endeavours. Certainly we have not given these pursuits the same recognition we give to artists, and well below the levels of esteem other European nations give their big-name scientists.

This may have played a part in the seeming lack of interest in science and engineering subjects within the education system, which in turn has created a skills shortage at a time when we desperately need to pursue every potential avenue of employment.

There is perhaps a correlation between our national disinterest in these fields and the situation in which we find ourselves. There are key employers willing to open operations on this island but they are unable to find the right quality of staff in the quantity they require.

In several articles in this month’s edition, our contributors focus on the need to promote our heritage of innovation on this island and give greater recognition to our engineering and scientific innovators, both past and present.

For the last two decades, students – and indeed parents, teachers and schools – failed to foresee where sustainable job growth would be in the years ahead.

Instead we focussed on the supposedly securer career routes to financial returns in the form of legal, medical or accounting professions, or anything related to the booming building trade.

The short-term skills shortage may well be filled by qualified graduates from outside the State, but we should take this time to consider how we can change mindsets and recognise the rich seam of scientific culture that exists and would sit well beside our artistic heritage.

We are a nation that seemingly loves to grasp new technology as consumers, so why not promote the idea that we can be its developers as well?