Bank of Ireland launches '˜Future of Work' summit with Catalyst Inc.
Bank of Ireland UK is today announcing it has strengthened its partnership with Catalyst Inc. to launch the Future of Work in Northern Ireland Solutions Summit in February 2018.
The summit will explore the challenges and opportunities presented by the advance of intelligent technologies and address the need for local businesses to act now in order to secure competitive advantage in a new economy.
Announcing details of the summit, the bank said results from a recent poll of over 500 local businesses found, that on average, half don’t recognise the need to change the way they do business over the next five years, while 51% viewed digital and IT as a driver for competitive advantage.
“The world of business is changing faster than ever,” said Bank of Ireland UK head of business banking Gavin Kennedy.
“It is estimated that more than 80% of the jobs people will be doing in 10 years’ time have not yet been created.
“In this era of globalisation, rapid technological growth and increased automation it is vital that businesses across Northern Ireland have a strategy to manage the changing economic landscape.”
He said the bank wanted to play its part in supporting businesses wanting to seize growth opportunities in the modern economy.
“We want to stimulate debate and discussion among local businesses as to how they develop their understanding of the future economy and how they can act now to seize on new opportunities for growth in a changed world. We are delighted to have joined forces with Catalyst Inc. which has secured world class keynote speakers and our shared ambition is for this to be a high energy and highly participatory event.”
Acknowledging the bank’s approach to supporting an entrepreneurial economy, Steve Orr, director of Connect at Catalyst Inc said: “Northern Ireland is targeted to be a leading knowledge economy by 2030 with an additional 80,000 jobs created.
“This summit will allow delegates to explore how we take advantage of the opportunities from automation and apply them to our business operations in Northern Ireland.
“Whether you are in a major corporation, leading an SME, launching a start-up or influencing government policy this is a unique opportunity to learn how we, as a regional economy and society, prepare and retool our talent for this new world.”