Ireland runs the risk of missing out on the economic opportunity from artificial intelligence unless it fundamentally reforms its approach to lifelong learning and workforce reskilling, according to business representative group Ibec.
A new Ibec report, Skills for all, skills for life, which was published in association with Accenture, suggests that AI will reshape as much as 82% of working hours in Ireland, with 64% of roles requiring significant reskilling.
It warned that a failure to ‘proactively and adequately reskill the workforce to support the transition puts a massive portion of the country’s competitive advantage at risk’, in turn hindering Ireland’s ability to take advantage of AI’s ‘multi-billion euro opportunity’.
‘At the precipice’
“We are just at the precipice of the change happening as a result of AI,” commented Kara McGann, head of skills and social policy at Ibec. “As a country, we cannot be passive or hold back our intent or resources in supporting the transition required to meet the opportunities and challenges that will come with it.
“We have a multi-billion-euro training fund sitting on the sidelines – acting like it’s a rainy-day fund – when given the level of disruption that we’re seeing, we’re actually in the middle of a monsoon – facing the most profound and unprecedented technological shifts since the industrial revolution and simultaneously a global talent competition.”
Ibec noted that Ireland‘s lifelong learning participation rate stands at 48.3%, above the EU average of 39.5%, however to retain competitive advantage amidst technological change, a significant increase will be necessary.
“We need a considerable step-change that shifts our national mindset toward continuous learning,” McGinn added. “By resolving the funding cycles of the National Training Fund (NTF) and establishing an integrated AI reskilling plan, we can ensure that Ireland becomes a net beneficiary of these new opportunities.”
Workforce development
Accenture’s managing director and talent reinvention lead, Audrey O’Mahony, added that AI investment remains heavily skewed towards technology rather than people, with organisations spending three times more on technology than workforce development.
“Ireland’s talent pool is one of our key economic differentiators but to sustain that, we have to commit to, and be deliberate about, reskilling,” she said.
“Across government, education and industry, there is a shared opportunity to support workforce development. The prize is significant: a workforce that is not merely adapting to change but driving it. Realising this will depend on sustained collaboration and a continued emphasis on skills across the ecosystem.” Read more here.
