'Irish ICT skills among the best’
The country’s education system is also lauded in the annual Global Information Technology Report which assesses the factors, policies and institutions that enable a country to make the most of information and communication technologies to increase competitiveness and improve the wellbeing of their citizens.
The report gauges Ireland’s technological proficiency against 143 other economies and places us in the top 25 in terms of network readiness.
The strong Irish performance highlights the steady progress that has been made and illustrates the country’s ability to punch above its weight, according to Oracle Ireland managing director Paul O’Riordan.
“The good news is Ireland has climbed one spot in the Networked Readiness Index to 25th position out of the 143 global economies analysed.
“It points to steady progress in our ICT development, as we’ve jumped four places against fierce international competition in the space of four years,” Mr O’Riordan said.
“What is most noteworthy for Ireland is that we are really punching above our weight in terms of IT skills, as we rank eighth in this category. Not only this, but the quality of our education system is ranked fifth in the world, which is a huge achievement.”
It is not all good news however, as the quality of maths and science education is called into question — something that could limit the scope for future competitive gains.
“Raising our game in this area will be critical to producing the next generation of computer scientists that we so desperately require to help fill Ireland’s future IT skills needs.
In today’s digital economy, it is not just careers in IT that require computing skills; all careers in all industries will gradually require computer literacy,” Mr O’Riordan said.
The business environment is another factor considered by the World Economic Forum’s report.
Ireland ranks 17th in its capacity for innovation regarding technology’s usage for business.
And the country is again in the top 20 in the impact ICT has had on its economy but lags behind in terms of infrastructure.
