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Brendan McDonagh, Manager of Planning, EU, Strategic Investments and RD&I Policy at IDA Ireland

How important are digital skills to attracting foreign direct investment?
Despite the recession, demand for digital skills remains strong, ranging from information security, data hosting, payments, digital advertising, film, animation, e-learning, to customer support and global business services (including international HQs’ operations). The games industry also presents high growth potential and opportunity for Ireland. This is illustrated by recent job announcements which span a variety of sectors, from ICT (HP Ireland, Avaya, Quest Software) and games companies (PopCap Games) with the financial sector featuring prominently as an employer of IT skills (Fidelity Investments, Monex, Fidessa, Murex).
Job creation is expected to continue in these sectors, with jobs likely to span managerial, professional and technician levels. Some leading global ICT companies which have announced job expansion plans include Dell, Hewlett Packard and LinkedIn. In line with trends in the sector, most of the investments are in the areas of cloud computing, software and contact centres all of which require digital skills of varying degrees.
Recent reports have highlighted the major economic opportunities for Ireland in the cloud computing and games sectors. The reports have shown that c. 9,000 and c. 4,500 jobs respectively could be created in these sectors, relying heavily on digital skills.
•    Ireland is poised to become a global cloud centre of excellence due to our significant software economy and combination of talent and track record. A growing number of global businesses in the IT industry are involved in this strategically important activity which can create high-value jobs and drive competitiveness.
•    Ireland also has the potential to become a global games hub for the 21st century. The games sector is experiencing strong growth leading to an increased employment in core games companies, with potential for further growth in a host of interrelated activities in the digital economy including social networks, search engines, animation, film and video, and e-learning.

What skills do your clients demand?
Multinational companies have a strong record for generating employment opportunities in Ireland. A 2011 IMI/National Irish Bank Survey of Multinational Corporations in Ireland shows that almost half (48%) of multinationals are expecting to grow employment numbers in the next 12 months, while only 13% of firms surveyed expect to decrease employment numbers. This growth is feeding strongly into Ireland’s export-led economic recovery, with multinationals here now accounting for over three- quarters of exports.
IDA is working with multinational companies to help transform their operations in order to best position them for future growth and ensure Ireland remains a leading competitive location for foreign direct investment. A key element in the transformation process includes an uplift in the skills of the workforce to meet the increasingly complex challenges of the digital economy.
Multinationals who are considering investing in Ireland frequently highlight the need for employees to be strong in one or more of the following: basic digital skills; software skills and both European and International languages. In addition companies focus on the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Demand for digital skills is expected to increase among multinational companies in Ireland, driven by the following factors:
•    Harnessing ICT is expected to feature prominently in businesses’ efforts to reduce costs and improve efficiencies through innovation in business processes. This is expected to further expand the use of SaaS (software as a service) and cloud computing platforms.
•    Increased use of the internet for marketing, advertising, sales, networking, communication (blogs and social networks) and recruitment purposes throughout the economy.

What actions are under way or need to be made to ensure we can supply this demand?
There is continued demand for graduates with appropriate digital skills across all industries. Initiatives such as Project Maths and the introduction of bonus points for Leaving Certificate mathematics to improve numeracy skills have been introduced.
•    Project Maths was introduced to improve the numeracy skills of second level students by changing what they learn, how they learn it and how they will be assessed. The programme will place a greater emphasis on understanding mathematical concepts, and developing problem-solving ability, focusing on understanding and skills in the teaching and learning of mathematics.
•    The introduction of a bonus points scheme for higher-level maths in the Leaving Cert from 2012 should increase higher level maths uptake and achievement, developing numeracy skills which are fundamental in order to develop digital skills and to attract investment to Ireland.
The State plays a critical role in ensuring that the supply of workers is conducive to employability through the education, training and activation system, and by reducing the mismatch between the skills available through the unemployed and the skills required by client companies. A number of policies to enhance labour market activation have been introduced in the government’s Jobs Initiative in May 2011, targeted at those who have left employment in areas which are now suffering from structural employment.
Conversion courses for non-technology graduates and initiatives such as Springboard have a vital role to play in ensuring this demand is met. The ‘Springboard’ initiative provides up-skilling and retraining for unemployed people in areas such as digital marketing, engineering and medical devices so that they may fill current or future job shortages in these areas. A number of the courses focus on technology enabling more people to choose careers in the broad range of sectors where demand for these skills is growing.
A new National Internship Scheme, JobBridge, was also launched during 2011 in order to provide work experience placements for a six or nine month period. The scheme will give people an opportunity to gain valuable experience to bridge the gap between study and the beginning of their working lives by providing time-limited work experience placements in the private, public and voluntary sectors.
In order to strengthen Ireland’s position as a cloud computing centre of excellence, EMC Corporation has partnered with Cork Institute of Technology to launch Ireland’s first masters and undergraduate degree programmes in cloud computing. The programmes aim to provide graduates with the advanced conceptual understanding, detailed factual knowledge, and specialist technical skills required for successfully delivering cloud computing. They will also equip them to meet the challenges associated with the rapidly changing IT industry.
In order to meet demand for digital skills, where difficulties arise for companies accessing IT skills employment permits are issued to non-EEA software engineers and computer programmers.
The demand for sophisticated digital skills is resulting in a number of companies from various sectors competing for the same pool of expertise. While the initiatives highlighted above should lead to an overall increase in the availability of these skills, in order to maximise the return from these investments it will be necessary to build on the output of the initiatives and utilise the enhanced skills to attract further investment to Ireland.

Tags: Brendan McDonagh, IDA Ireland