Looking to the Future
At Skillnet Ireland we are building a world-class enterprise-led organisation to help prepare businesses and workers for the future of work. We are ambitious for Ireland. We are ambitious for Irish business.

A New Set of Ambitions
for Irish Business

Having a skilled and agile workforce is essential to how we respond to current and future business challenges. The future, although challenging, offers an opportunity to transition and transform businesses, build new business models or reengineer existing ones, and enable those in the workforce to build new skills. By developing our talented workforce we will ensure businesses are equipped for the future.
We look forward to working with businesses to support the talent demands for a more digital future and building a low-carbon and sustainable economy. The strategic themes will be delivered upon through clear and ambitious actions, so that we can make the optimum contribution to the productivity and innovation of businesses in Ireland.
Click here to view our
Strategy 2021-2025
Strategic Themes
to Support Irish Business
Over the next five years Skillnet Ireland will be guided by
three strategic themes.
Theme
1
Workforce Design
Workforce design is the process of analysing the workforce, determining its future needs, and identifying the gap that exists between what the organisation needs now and what it will need in the future. The need to have the right people with the right skills and tools, in the right roles at the right time is more critical now than ever. Workforce design is essential to keep enterprise ahead of the curve, building human capital and capacity at a sectoral and regional level.
Theme
2
People Development
As working environments become more complex and greater agility is needed, developing people is an essential strategy to achieve business goals. People development activities help businesses to improve through talent development and that enable workers to learn and to grow. It results in better business outcomes, improved staff engagement and greater career opportunities for workers.
Theme
3
Strategic Innovation
We are living in an age of unparalleled technological disruption and business transformation. Strategic innovation is at the core of how enterprises manage change and adopt to changing circumstances. Strategic innovation places businesses ahead of the curve by boosting creativity, ideation and productivity and helps workers adapt to the new world of work by future proofing their skills.
Helping businesses in Ireland to be the best they can be, through innovative and enterprise-driven people development.
Strategic Goals
2021 – 2025
Businesses
Supported
Total
Investment
Workers
Supported
Innovation Themed
Projects & Proposals

“We are ambitious for Ireland and for Irish enterprise and our new strategy reflects the need for Ireland to have a highly skilled and agile workforce. Skillnet Ireland will drive that agenda, both in terms of increasing numbers of businesses supported and expanding into new areas. We are doing this by setting ourselves ambitious targets, focused on the three key themes of Workforce Design, People Development and Strategic Innovation.”
Brendan McGinty
Skillnet Ireland Chairperson
Ireland will be a leader in people development with the world’s most future looking, agile and highly skilled workforce
Case Studies:
Powering Enterprises
The Future of Cx
in Ireland
Ireland is a centre of excellence for global customer experience (Cx), a sector that is seeing significant transformation due to the increased adoption of AI and automation. In collaboration with Skillnet Ireland and the University of Limerick, ICBE Advanced Productivity Skillnet undertook research to advance our understanding of these trends and what they mean for future skills in this sector of strategic national interest. Our research found that Ireland’s Cx sector benefits from highly skilled workers, that are agile, and with a capacity to apply their talents across multiple industry sectors. New programmes subsequently developed by Skillnet Ireland and our partners are providing career transition pathways for workers in roles vulnerable to digital transformation in Cx, opening doors to the richer knowledge-based roles required post automation.
Global Leadership
in Data Science
Rapid advances in Big Data, dataenabled technologies and artificial intelligence are creating both challenges and opportunities for Ireland’s data science industry. A new industry-driven PhD in Data Science emerged from a multi stakeholder collaboration between Skillnet Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, University of Limerick, Maynooth University, University College Dublin, together with industry partners and companies. Skillnet Ireland and Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet are leading the industry engagement component, a cornerstone of the initiative. The programme will be instrumental in making Ireland a world leader in the field of data science.
Rapid Reskilling
through Enterprise
Skills Connect is helping workers severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic to reskill quickly and prepare for roles in sectors offering strong employment opportunities. Skills Connect is multi-sectoral in its reach, spanning technology, agri-food, medtech, logistics, energy efficiency, law, cybersecurity and Cx. Together with innovative upskilling and reskilling programmes, Skills Connect is providing valuable work placements, on-the-job mentoring and other career supports for workers, all delivered in close collaboration with over 300 companies nationwide. Employers are also grasping the opportunities presented by Skills Connect, enabling new growth by providing immediate access to skilled workers.
Hear From Our
Enterprise Partners
This Statement of Strategy is informed by an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation. Skillnet Ireland, together with our industry partners, will deliver substantive actions across our three strategic themes. Watch our video to hear from some of those helping to drive the Skillnet Ireland mission forward.
View the
Skillnet Ireland
Statement of Strategy 2021 – 2025

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