Future Jobs FINAL FINAL - DBEI

Future Jobs Ireland 2019

Future Jobs Ireland 2019

Contents

......................................................................................... i ........................................................................................... iii Executive Summary ...........................................................................................1 Why Future Jobs Ireland?................................................................................12 Pillar 1. Embracing Innovation and Technological Change..........................22 Pillar 2. Improving SME Productivity ..............................................................36 Pillar 3. Enhancing Skills and Developing and Attracting Talent .................49 Pillar 4. Increasing Participation in The Labour Force ..................................59 Pillar 5. Transitioning to a Low Carbon Economy .........................................67 Implementation .................................................................................................74 Appendices .......................................................................................................76

Future Jobs Ireland 2019

Ireland is nearing full employment. We have never had so many people at work, in education, taking on apprenticeships. As a result, living standards are rising and poverty and deprivation rates are falling. People have worked hard over the last eight years and should be proud of how far they have taken their country. But it cannot be taken for granted. There is no room for complacency.

We know that even the most benign Brexit deal will be inferior to the current relationship. We also know that:

The outlook for the international trading environment is challenging; The pace of technological change and its adaptation by society is ever-quickening; The imperatives of climate action mean we must accelerate the decarbonisation of our economy; The demographics of our society, and an aging population, put pressures on welfare, pensions and services, and on a generation coming forward whose jobs do not yet exist; The productivity of our domestically owned small and medium enterprises lags far behind the foreign owned firms. However, it is not enough to recognise those challenges. We must act. Future Jobs Ireland seeks to put our economy in a better place to withstand shocks when they come. It sets out a deliberate policy shift to increase firstly quality jobs that will allow for better living standards and secondly, sustainable jobs which will be less vulnerable to loss. Future Jobs Ireland shatters any complacency and sets out an agenda to respond to future risks. Importantly, it seeks to ensure we benefit from the changes that are already happening in the world of technology, artificial intelligence and robotics, and the move to a low-carbon economy.

Sometimes complacency can set in when an economy is performing well. Hard won success can be taken for granted and risks and opportunities overlooked. Eight years ago, economic matters dominated our public affairs, today they rarely feature in public discourse. Precisely because there are multiple opportunities now, we need to decide on how we prioritise our resources, our talent and our investment. Future Jobs Ireland plans for future developments and it also encourages public debate about our economic direction and what we need to do to maintain sustainable growth and quality jobs for this generation and the next.

If we are to have the economy and society we want in 2025 low carbon, higher productivity, technologically responsive, family continuing to be core, we need to create the environment where that is possible. As a country we need to see lifelong learning as the norm so we are adaptable to new technology and sectors; businesses needs to consider new ways of attracting and retaining talent through remote and flexible working options; and that women as well as men can get the job done.

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Future Jobs Ireland 2019

Future Jobs Ireland places a strong focus on increasing productivity and boosting participation rates so we can take advantage of technological changes and embed them in all parts of our economy. It also ensures that we will continue to enhance the skills of Irish workers as we move quickly to the low-carbon economy. This strategy provides an ambitious framework for the future of Irish jobs. We have an opportunity to boost the productivity of our domestically owned SMEs and we must take it. Today, Ireland enjoys a reputation as one of the most attractive places for Foreign Direct Investment. By 2025 I want us to have a similar reputation as the home of dynamic, high achieving, Irish owned SMEs with a talented and adapted workforce. This is the next phase of our national development. Future Jobs Ireland offers a new direction in how we plan for the economy of the 21st century. It is bold, it is ambitious, and it is achievable. By confronting head-on the challenges we face in the world of work, we can ensure we are able to prosper from the transformations that are coming. We can face the future with confidence because of the preparations we have made today.

Leo Varadkar Taoiseach March 2019

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