Fastrack to IT (FIT) is dedicated to addressing skills requirements in an increasingly digitalised Irish economy, demonstrating that wider access to technological skills training leads to interesting career paths and job opportunities. This research explores possibilities to strengthen the supply of skills that can come from the latest borders to skills development in Ireland – up-skilling of people already in employment and lifelong learning.
Research focuses on:
• Ireland’s new economic development model highlights the direction that has been set for skills development in a new generation of strategies for Ireland’s medium- and long-term economic development.
• Overcoming labour market problems in Ireland assesses Ireland’s performance against international standards and examines the extent to which skills have been wasted in the labour force.
• Taking into account the necessary changes in education focuses on the key elements of the upper secondary education system in Ireland and the role it plays in anticipating and minimising skills loss at a later stage.
• The different impact of the COVID-19 pandemic examines the consequences of the pandemic on the Irish workforce and the lessons learned from the previous recovery of the crisis are presented.