Irish workers must upskill for new industrial revolution says Skillnet chief

In remarks made at the launch of the government's Future Jobs Programme last August, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar noted that 15 per cent of Irish males were employed driving something.

The implications for those people of new autonomous driving technologies and of digital transformation generally are clear.

Many of those jobs will disappear but the news is not all bad, according to Paul Healy, chief executive of Skillnet Ireland, the national agency charged with the promotion and facilitation of workforce learning. He believes the new industrial revolution – industry 4.0 as it has become known – will lead to the creation of at least as many jobs as it destroys.

There is a catch, however. People need to have the right skillsets to perform these new roles, many of which don’t even exist yet. Without the necessary skills the opportunities will pass them by.

“Industry 4.0 is the combination of big data, IoT [Internet of Things], machine learning, artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and other technologies which are enabling the next major leap forward in manufacturing and value creation,” Mr Healy explains. “The type of disruption we are seeing is unparalleled in history for its pace and pervasiveness. It is pushing into all sectors and into areas and roles not reached by previous revolutions. It is a perfect storm really and many countries and economies are struggling with it.”

Skills are at the core of the disruption and there is a danger that people will lose out on the opportunity to acquire them, he points out. “It begins with the hollowing out of skills and roles which currently exist. These are the entry-level roles where you used to learn on the job and acquire new skills. They are being replaced by the technology.”

The issue is being exacerbated by changing employment models. "The International Labour Organisation is predicting that in 20 years' time just one in four jobs will be in the standard employment model," Mr Healy notes. "The rest will be portfolio careers, people working for themselves, and so on. They will be working without the scaffolding of an employer helping them with upskilling and training."

That will make a poor situation even worse for Ireland which lies in the bottom quartile for upskilling and training when compared with other European and OECD countries. The danger is that the Irish workforce will not be able to engage with the new technologies when they arise, according to Healy.

It is not too late to address the issue, however. “Because Ireland is small and agile we are able to change quite quickly,” says Mr Healy. “Industry 4.0 will change jobs and automate them but will create new jobs as well. Ireland has ridden the waves of previous technological change and moved up the value chain over the years and we can do so again.”

He believes there are three pillars to the solution. “The first is at the individual level,” he says. “People need to take responsibility for their own training and development and become lifelong learners. They have to take a conscious decision to make themselves ready for digital transformation.”

The second pillar is the employers. “They have a role in adapting to change and in enabling the technology in a positive way. People are their greatest assets and they need to prepare them for the changes.”

"The third pillar relates to the state," Mr Healy continues. "Policy makers and government agencies like ourselves need to develop the policies and provide the supports necessary to prepare people for 21st century jobs. Work is already being done on this and the public consultation on the new National Digital Strategy is underway. The Department of the Taoiseach is leading on that. Skillnet Ireland's role is to act as a facilitator between policy, and employers and employees and help translate it into action on the ground."

That action is carried out by Skillnet Networks, collections of private sector businesses which collaborate to address skills needs within their sector or organisation. The individual networks identify their skills needs and receive support from Skillnet Ireland to provide the training to address them.

“We expect to reach 17,000 firms and 60,000 employees through the Skillnet Networks in 2019,” says Mr Healy. “We are already seeing innovative workplace learning projects being implemented to address Industry 4.0. It is very much a demand-side model with employers and enterprise groups driving it.”

While these figures are impressive, he feels more could be done. “In many ways you are never doing enough,” he says. “One very positive development has been the reform of the National Training Fund. More funding is now being directed to those in employment and this can be used to help them meet the challenges of Industry 4.0.”

But challenges remain, particularly for small firms. “The large multinationals are well resourced and have the budgets for these things, but the 800,000 workers in small firms face a bigger challenge. How can those workers take steps to ready themselves for digital transformation?” asks Mr Healy. “My advice for those firms is to engage with their relevant Skillnet. There is one for practically every sector and in every region and they are well placed to assist smaller companies with their training needs.”