Chair of Skills Strategy Advisory Group welcomes funding and urges investment in priority sectors

The package, which was announced by Northern Ireland Secretary of State Brandon Lewis, will support businesses as they adjust to a new operating environment after the Brexit transition period ends on December 31.

Part of the funding will be used to promote Northern Ireland’s potential as a leader in innovative technology and to invest in skills in key growth areas such as cybersecurity, fintech and green technology.

The Skills Strategy Advisory Group is made up of key stakeholders from industry, education, trade unions and the public sector, which will provide advice on the development of the Department for the Economy’s new Skills Strategy.

The group is chaired by Jackie Henry, senior partner for Deloitte in Northern Ireland, who believes it is important that dedicated funding is ringfenced for these high potential sectors.

“I welcome the announcement of the £400m package for NI and in particular the commitment to invest in the skills of the people of Northern Ireland in key growth areas such as cybersecurity, fintech and green technology. As an urgent priority I believe the Northern Ireland Executive should commit to creating a ringfenced skills fund to support urgent investment in these priority growth areas,” she said.

Earlier this week, techUK released a new report highlighting a number of ways to build on Northern Ireland’s digital strengths to level-up the economy and safeguard future prosperity. The Building the Future we Need report, which was supported by Deloitte, found there is an urgent need for the region to increase its digital capabilities to drive an innovation-led recovery. The report identified that while the region has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, its growing tech sector provides strong opportunities for the economy to be revitalised.

Jackie Henry said: “The techUK report is the latest to acknowledge the need to invest in enhancing the digital skills that will be needed to grow high potential sectors and remain competitive on the global stage. The local digital sector is worth around £1bn to the local economy but if we can address the skills needs in Northern Ireland, we believe it could be worth much more.”

Key responsibilities of the Skills Strategy Advisory Group include providing advice to the Department for the Economy on the development of the Northern Ireland Skills Strategy and representing the interests of their sector, including business, education and trade unions.

The overarching policy objectives of the skills strategy are: Addressing skills imbalances; Driving economic growth; Creating a culture of lifelong learning

and Enhancing digital skills to develop NI’s digital spine.

Initially, the Group is focusing on supporting Government to establish better governance arrangements, including how to effectively engage with businesses across Northern Ireland.

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