Ms Tracey Donnery:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to attend today to outline Skillnet Ireland’s contribution to the European Year of Skills and highlight how Skillnet Ireland is supporting businesses to address their skills challenges, including those of digitalisation and sustainability.

As the national agency responsible for spearheading workforce development for the enterprise sector, we welcomed the European Commission's announcement of the European Year of Skills and its commitment to life-long learning. We focus on the upskilling challenges of digitalisation, sustainability, SME leadership, talent for FDI firms and innovation. We do this by working with 60 industry partners. Our approach is to empower industry to determine its skill needs and facilitate the delivery and design of programmes on a cost-sharing basis. We also foster collaborations between companies and the tertiary education sector to develop new programmes to meet the needs of industry.

In 2022, we provided training supports to more than 24,000 businesses and 92,000 trainees through our 74 Skillnet business networks and national upskilling schemes. We invested a total of €70.2 million in industry developed skills programmes, of which €26.5 million came from the private sector in co-investment. We initiated a series of events and projects to mark the European Year of Skills. In May 2023, we hosted the Irish launch event of the European Year of Skills with the then Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and now Taoiseach, Deputy Harris, alongside stakeholders from across the skills and enterprise eco-system. Our Skillnet business networks delivered more than 30 dedicated European Year of Skills events to promote life-long learning and offer valuable learning opportunities across a wide range of areas, including retail, hospitality, technology and many others.

Throughout the year, we placed an emphasis on encouraging SMEs in particular to prioritise upskilling through these events and our ongoing promotion campaigns. We were pleased to present the Skillnet Ireland enterprise-led skills model at a number of high-profile European Commission events, including the EU sustainable energy week and the EU pact for skills forum. Soon, we will speak at the closing event of the European Year of Skills, which is titled, The EU Year of Skills - What Comes Next?

Each of these European engagements brings significant benefits to Ireland in terms of disseminating international best practice, industry insights and learning about new industry skills developments across the wider EU membership. We also partnered with the European DIGITAL SME Alliance to host a skills summit at the European Economic and Social Committee, EESC, in November 2023 in Brussels.

In terms of our broader EU engagement, Skillnet Ireland is now a delivery partner in six EU consortia initiatives that focus on digitalisation and the green transition. These involve collaboration with more than 25 countries.

In January 2024, Skillnet Ireland was pleased to launch its first European Social Fund Plus, ESF+, programme. We are investing €10 million in workforce development through ESF+ this year. This investment will create significant impacts for business competitiveness and the ongoing career development of over 2,000 individuals in 2024. These programmes will be delivered across a wide range of technical and transferable skills areas. ESF+ will facilitate us in making a significant impact on developing Ireland’s skilled and resilient workforce and deliver measurable impacts and results in furthering social inclusion in the years ahead.

In its recent pact for skills report, the European Commission ranked Skillnet Ireland first out of 47 upskilling initiatives for enterprise across EU member states and internationally. The report was commissioned by the European Innovation Council, EIC, and ranked Skillnet Ireland first in terms of overall performance assessment and its impact on businesses and contribution to the economy, including to the digital and climate agenda. This report reinforces Ireland’s reputation for leading-edge workforce development policies and business supports.

In the year in which our organisation marks its 25th anniversary, Skillnet Ireland and its 74 Skillnet business networks and initiatives have embraced the European Year of Skills. Having a highly skilled workforce is critical for Ireland’s national competitiveness. By investing further in workforce development, Ireland can ensure that its workforce is equipped with leading-edge skills and, in doing so, capitalise on the immense economic opportunities that the green and digital transitions present.