Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The issue that comes up time and again is that of skills. There is no doubt that as digitisation, or whatever we want to call it, transforms virtually every sector, there is an increasing focus on a narrow range of skills. We need to up our capability across a whole range of skills. I am very encouraged by the new apprenticeship programme, where 86 employer partnerships applied to create new apprenticeships in areas where we have never had them before. That is an encouraging sign that business is willing to invest, in partnership with the State, to grow the skills base in new areas. That is the biggest issue. As they describe it, the war for talent is very strong among companies.

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