ICT Action Plan

At a press conference in Dublin, the ICT industry and government launched a report entitled "ICT Action Plan – meeting the high-level skills needs of enterprise in Ireland" which sets out a multi-point strategy to tackle the current skills shortage that could threaten growth in the sector.

A diverse range of groups have been working on the strategy since 2008, including ICT Ireland, American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, the Irish Software Association, IT@Cork, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and Engineers Ireland, along with the Dept of Education.

"As a country we face many challenges in bringing about a return to economic prosperity," said Ruairí Quinn TD, Minister for Education and Skills. "In building that recovery, we also have huge resources to draw from, in terms of the strength of our ICT enterprise base, the quality of our education system and the talent and flexibility of our workforce. This Plan represents the output of the process of research and engagement which was initiated in early 2011 to address concerns about the supply of high level ICT skills being experienced by companies in Ireland."

"Since January 2011, over 80 jobs a week have been announced in the sector. This is on foot of 6% employment growth in 2009 and 4% in 2010. A recent global competitiveness report ranks Ireland as the top destination in the world by quality and value of investments. With a growing multinational technology presence in Ireland and a vibrant and innovative indigenous software sector, the future prospects for Ireland’s technology sector are bright," Regina Moran, CEO, Fujitsu and Chair of ICT Ireland.

"Highly skilled individuals are needed to maintain Ireland’s competitive advantage and meet the demands of a rapidly expanding sector. Action is required from both government and industry. This education action plan is a direct and positive response to the skills needs of the technology sector. Through a variety of initiatives, the action plan places Ireland at the forefront of the global technology industry, ensuring Ireland will continue to produce the quality and quantity of skilled graduates needed for the technology sector."

The report states that inward migration had up to now been supplying a significant number of skilled people, and that this could not be relied upon in the future.

"It is estimated that approximately 55% of the high level ICT skills needs are currently being met through inward migration," says the report. "A continued reliance on inward migration of this scale is not sustainable if Ireland is to fully realise the expansion and development opportunities that exist for the evolving ICT sector while also meeting the high-level ICT skills needs of other enterprise sectors.

"The domestic skills supply needs to be built up over time by boosting graduate level output and by companies upskilling existing staff to fill positions for experienced professionals. State supported measures to assist companies to provide training for employees include the Skillnets ICT training networks which also provide opportunities for jobseekers to acquire ICT skills. The key focus of this Plan, however, is on what can be done to ensure an adequate and sustained supply of high-quality graduates from the education system."

Identifying domestic supply as a key challenge, the report states that both attracting and retaining students to third level feeder courses for the ICT industry is vital to sustain the sector in Ireland, supporting the nation’s recovery and ensuring future prosperity.

"The Plan establishes an overarching target of doubling the annual output from honours degree ICT undergraduate programmes to 2,000 graduates by 2018. Projected output in 2011 is approximately 1,000 graduates."

This ambitious plan is based on two key actions "that aim to bridge the gap and increase the domestic supply in the short term are maximising the uptake of Springboard ICT programmes and the introduction of a range of new honours degree level graduate conversion programmes from early 2012."

The report also recognises the need to increase the number of female students in such courses. "Participation by female students, in particular, needs to be increased and a target of increasing female acceptances onto ICT related programmes from 15% to 25% is being established."

The report says that targets set out require a dialogue with students, parents and schools about the challenging and rewarding careers that are available in the ICT industry here in Ireland, due to the wide range of organisations already in the sector here, "both in multinational and Irish owned companies."

"The Action Plan includes some measures that will be taken by the Discover, Science and Engineering programme and other Government and industry sponsored initiatives to promote a greater interest amongst students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) disciplines. The ICT sector itself has the key role to play in promoting awareness and interest in ICT related careers amongst young people and further responses which are identified will be reflected in the Plan."

Retention rates in ICT feeder courses are also a concern and the report establishes a target of improving retention rates by 7% in the University sector and 9% in the Institute of Technology sector by 2014.

The report concludes by saying "the process of engagement between all of the stakeholders will continue and progress in relation to the Action Plan will be reviewed on an ongoing basis by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, the Enterprise Engagement Forum chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills and by an annual meeting between the Minister for Education and Skills, the HEA, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and representatives of the enterprise sector."

 TechCentral Reporters

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