Bernard Smith
Head of Europe, IDA Ireland
The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit has been well documented, however, Ireland’s economy has been resilient. Despite immense global challenges, Ireland continues to be an excellent place to invest.
Key to the country’s growth has been strong foreign direct investment (FDI) across all industry sectors. In fact, IDA Ireland – the inward investment promotion and development agency of the Irish Government – reported significant growth in FDI in 2021, with the highest employment creation figures ever in a single year.
Investing in the Irish workforce
An important factor that makes Ireland so attractive to investors is its rich talent pool. Central to this, is the country’s continued investment in its education system – which already ranks among the best in the world – to meet the demands of a competitive economy. Indeed, Ireland is implementing a comprehensive, forward-looking National Skills Strategy and Action Plan for Education, aiming to make Irish education and training the best in Europe by 2026. Plus, to upskill and develop the workforce, Skillnet Ireland plans to invest €77 million in supporting 20,000 companies and 80,000 workers this year.
Ireland is uniquely positioned to connect UK, EU and US businesses, creating a hub of international talent.
World-class education aside, the opportunities here are greatly appealing for talented professionals – from both Ireland and overseas. Being the only native English-speaking country in the EU, Ireland is uniquely positioned to connect UK, EU and US businesses, creating a hub of international talent, collaboration and knowledge sharing. This propensity to draw talent from a large European workforce is a real advantage for business leaders wanting to expand. Companies with Irish operations have access to a labour pool of approximately 250 million people from across the EU. Currently, 16.5% of Ireland’s total workforce originates from other EU countries.
Ireland offers excellent career opportunities
Furthermore, collaboration and open dialogue between IDA Ireland client companies, Ireland’s home-grown companies, government and academia on common strategic goals such as skills, the future of work, the green economy and digitisation, help to educate tomorrow’s workforce and create a network of innovative minds.
This network is home to many of the world’s leading high-performance companies including Intel, Twitter, Pfizer, Citi, Ericsson, Vodafone, Sage and Novartis, which continue to invest in Ireland long after they first established their Irish operations. This demonstrates how Ireland not only attracts multinationals, but also continually helps them to expand and climb the value chain.
Ireland’s track record, talent and collaborative ecosystem continue to entice multinationals and cement Ireland’s important role in Europe.