South has ‘skills advantage’ over North

The Economic and Social Research Institute said there was a skills shortage could threaten economic growth in the Republic and the North, two think-tanks have warned. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) said there was a “skills mismatch” in the Republic that could be a barrier to growth in the future, while the Nevin Economic Research Institute said the North was “trapped in a low-skills equilibrium”.

The ESRI said just under half of full-time Irish employees reported that their skills are greater than those required to do their job — the fourth highest rate of skill under-utilisation out of 28 EU countries, it said.