IDA and Skillnet Ireland have agreed to a strategic talent development partnership aimed at supporting foreign direct investment companies looking to attract and retain talent to drive business growth.
The two state agencies will develop new programmes and engagement models to assist multinationals in availing of talent development initiatives offers across Skillnet's 73 networks nationwide.
The partnership takes advantage of IDA's business development and support services for FDI companies and Skillnet's talent development expertise and extensive delivery network to drive growth
FDI companies employ 275,000 people in Ireland, accounting for nearly 12% of the Irish workforce and 32% of corporate employment, plus €10.5bn in employment taxes and PRSI in 2019.
The IDA-Skillnet partnership commenced with a pilot strategic talent development programme for companies seeking to future-proof their workforce based on new strategic challenges and opportunities they are facing.
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The pilot was successful and is now running with companies in the financial services, biopharmaceutical, aviation communications, manufacturing and software development sectors.
Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Robert Troy said the skills needed to stay apace in the global environment are "continuously evolving, and it is vital that businesses can efficiently and effectively fulfil these needs.
"For businesses across Ireland, particularly [multinationals], the value of attracting and retaining talent cannot be understated. Ireland is renowned for developing and nurturing talent and the Government continues to prioritise responding to current and future labour market skills needs.
"The partnership between IDA Ireland and Skillnet Ireland is an important step to ensure Ireland remains an attractive and competitive place to live, work, and invest.”
Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Niall Collins said the partnership would be "critical to support the long-term success and growth of multi-national companies in Ireland through innovative and high-impact talent development programmes and initiatives."
Mary Buckley, executive director of IDA Ireland, added: "We are delighted to be working with Skillnet Ireland on our new Strategic Talent Development Partnership.
"The partnership supports IDA’s clients to build a robust approach to long term talent development that will support the sustainable growth of their Irish operations within an increasingly competitive global environment."
Lynda Boylan, head of strategic partnerships at Skillnet Ireland, said: "This is an exciting new strategic partnership between the two leading state enterprise agencies in the FDI space. It builds on the great work of Skillnet Business Networks who already support nearly 1000 multinational companies across Ireland.
"The global pandemic, growing digitalisation of work practices and the need for organisations to become more sustainable, have brought into sharper focus the need for [multinationals] to ensure they are resourced with the right talent to support both short- and long-term business growth."
Photo: Skillnet Ireland CEO Paul Healy, Robert Troy, Mary Buckley and Niall Collins.
