Launch of Skillnet Ireland Statement of Strategy 2021-2025- November 2020 by Minister Simon Harris- Department of Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation & Science

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.

Skillnet Ireland 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.

Strategic Themes to Support Irish Business
Over the next five years Skillnet Ireland will be guided by three strategic themes:

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.

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.

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.

​Read the full Statement of Strategy 2021-2025 here