Ireland’s highly educated, productive and agile workforce has been a key factor in its success in attracting investments. So the fact that talent gaps are emerging is a concern.
“Like every country, Ireland is trying to balance energy demands with the need to tackle climate change,” says Chris Collins, Schneider Electric’s country president Ireland.
“Our industries are power hungry and if we’re going to continue leading in areas like life sciences and pharmaceuticals we need to invest in smarter ways to generate electricity, while cutting harmful CO2 emissions.”
The answer lies in the process of electrification that will support the growth of a new green economy based on cleaner energy.
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“But, like other nations, we must close the skills gap for good if we are to support Ireland’s push to electrify businesses and transition away from fossil fuels,” says Collins.
More than a third of businesses have identified sustainability as key to their growth but are experiencing difficulties in finding people with the green skills to capitalise on this.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic led to a significant backlog for apprentices waiting to begin their off-the-job training. We need to fast-track these courses to get numbers back on track, while at the same time create more places for apprentices to meet the new energy demands,” says Collins.
In June the Irish Medtech Skillnet, a learning network, launched the Talent to Thrive report. The research initially focused on five key functional areas: manufacturing, regulatory affairs, human resources, sustainability, and research, development and innovation.
However, according to Ann O’Connell, manager of Irish Medtech Skillnet and head of funded projects for medtech and engineering at Ibec, “what emerged was quite surprising – two additional sets of skills underpinned all five functional areas: digital skills and transversal skills”.
Transversal skills are competencies that go beyond specific job roles or industries, O’Connell explains. The concept has gained increasing attention over the last couple of decades.
In the past, education and training systems predominantly focused on technical or specialised skills – those directly linked to specific job functions or occupations.
“However, as workplaces and industries have become more interconnected and digital, the importance of, and demand for, skills that can cross boundaries has grown significantly,” says O’Connell. “For instance, skills such as critical thinking, adaptability, emotional intelligence, teamwork and effective communication are now recognised as essential in every field – whether you’re working in tech, healthcare, education, or the arts.
“This shift has been largely driven by the rise of digitalisation, automation and AI, which are taking over many routine, technical tasks. The skills that machines cannot replicate – those that require creativity, human judgment, and interaction – are now more valuable than ever.”
O’Connell has a number of training functions under her remit, including manufacturing engineer apprenticeships and polymer technology apprenticeships.
She is involved in the Springboard and Human Capital training programmes, developed to support the quality and regulatory functions in the medtech sector, while Irish Medtech Skillnet has also recently developed an industry-led Master of Science in end-to-end sterility assurance programme, the first of its kind in Ireland and Europe.
BioPharmaChem Ireland, the trade association within Ibec that represents the biopharma and chemical sector, is also building talent pipelines. This area has seen significant investment in skills development over the past decade, says Siobhán Dean, the organisation’s deputy director.
“We had our first investment in this sector in the 1960s and over the decades we have developed the capacity of the sector to embrace new developments,” says Deane. “We also have a very highly educated workforce, with around one quarter of PhDs produced here being employed in the sector.”
Ireland’s main competitor in this space is Singapore, which has invested heavily in its skills building. Here in Ireland, the sector needs more engineers, chemists and biologists but it also needs them to have data skills, says Deane.
“You need that hybrid graduate, the person with not just a basic science degree but also with AI and digitalisation skills,” she explains.
Right now the biggest growth subsector is biologics, she adds: “Gene therapies and personalised medicine are where the industry is going.”
In developing the requisite skills, the sector benefits from the National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training, which develops training in collaboration with industry. The advent of apprenticeships and new pathways into tertiary education, outside the CAO, is also helping.
There is currently huge demand for advanced data skills, including in the areas of machine learning and data analytics.
“These capabilities are becoming essential as businesses increasingly adopt cloud and digital technologies to stay competitive,” says Audrey Bell, senior human resources manager at the Huawei Ireland Research Centre. “Programming skills, in particular, are in high demand across various roles, with scripting languages such as JavaScript and Python standing out as must-haves.”
Advanced technology – including AI and machine learning – is changing the world at an unprecedented pace, she points out, impacting how and where we work. As these changes accelerate, the ability to transition into new jobs is more critical than ever.
“In the future, employers will need to invest in reskilling development efforts and changes in work practices. Workers may have to look to transition from roles in decline into new thriving jobs in the digital workplace,” says Bell.
“Instead of looking externally for the candidate with the right specialist skill set, the fast pace of technological change in the workplace requires organisations to be agile and find strategies for reskilling and upskilling their existing employees.”
