Workers making increasing use of skills training to boost career paths

One in five Irish workers reskill in digital, technical or leadership skills, with AI close behind, a Skillnet Ireland report finds

Dave Flynn, director of business networks, Skillnet Ireland.

Workers are playing an increasingly active role in retraining to develop skills to enhance their career opportunities.

A new Skillnet Ireland report entitled ‘Lifelong Learning and the Future of Work’ has found that 90% of people in employment believe upskilling and reskilling are vital for their professional success, while over 85% of respondents say they have undertaken upskilling in the past year, which includes accredited training programmes.

One in five survey respondents told Skillnet Ireland, the national workforce development agency, that digital, technical or management/leadership skills. Skills related to AI followed closely behind, with 55% saying they will need AI upskilling for their career in the future.

In this Q&A interview, Dave Flynn, director of business networks, Skillnet Ireland, discusses what the survey responses say about people’s increasing commitment to developing their workplace skills.

Are employees becoming more active in their use of training to improve their career options?

Yes, there is clear evidence that workers increasingly recognise the importance of continuous development of their skills as careers evolve alongside technological, economic and environmental change.

Skillnet Ireland is the national workforce development agency which facilitates the collaboration of industry representative bodies to design business supports focused on skills. Through our 70 distinct Skillnet Business Networks and five national initiatives, training programmes are delivered to businesses of all sizes, based on sectoral or geographical needs, that are closely aligned to real workplace gaps and opportunities. As a result, employees can invest their time in developing skills that are directly applicable in the workplace, and valued by employers.

 The recent research survey undertaken by Skillnet Ireland on Lifelong Learning and the Future of Work found that 98% of respondents from Cork said it is important for them to learn a new skill as their careers develop. Career advancement was also the highest-ranked (38%) motivation for engaging in upskilling among respondents. Across the programmes delivered by Skillnet Ireland, we are seeing strong participation in training that helps employees to build capabilities in digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability and leadership. These skills are becoming increasingly valuable across all sectors of the economy.

How important is technology reskilling to people’s job security and future prospects?

It’s very important. This year, Skillnet Ireland launched its new strategy, Empowering Enterprise 2026-2028 which lays out a roadmap for strengthening Ireland’s economic competitiveness in large part through enabling business transformation through digitalisation, AI and sustainability.

Digital upskilling and reskilling helps businesses to remain competitive through this watershed era for technological disruption, with AI and other technological advances poised to reshape business practice models and potentially transform employment across many sectors of the economy. The findings of the Skillnet Ireland Lifelong Learning and Future of Work survey, has revealed that workers in Cork recognise that digital and AI upskilling are critical for their career development, with 57% of respondents saying they will need AI training for their future career and almost one-third (30%) indicating that digital upskilling is their top priority.

In 2025, Skillnet Ireland delivered targeted upskilling in areas including AI, data analytics, cybersecurity and automation to strengthen enterprise capability, and support SMEs to adopt new technologies and innovate. 12,655 workers and 2,412 companies benefited from digital skills programmes, including over 50 AI programmes ranging from foundational training to advanced qualifications, data analytics, machine learning, automation and human-centred capabilities that enable effective AI use.

Ireland’s first MSc in Artificial Intelligence was first developed by Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet in 2018 in partnership with the University of Limerick and industry stakeholders. The programme has produced more than 400 graduates since its launch, helping organisations build advanced technical capability while supporting the development of Ireland’s AI talent pipeline.

Technology Ireland DIGITAL Skillnet, launched the AI Capability Accelerator last year, which is a training programme designed to help leaders integrate AI into strategic decision-making and operational planning.

Also, BioPharmaChem Skillnet, which is based in Cork, offers a Diploma in AI for Business, which was designed to support companies with their practical, operational needs is proving to be very popular.

Are you seeing employees’ fears around AI evolving in the Irish workplace?

There is no question that both employers’ and employees’ understanding of the role of AI in Irish companies is evolving. There is a growing recognition that artificial intelligence is becoming a significant feature of the modern workplace, and with that, there is a key challenge for people to acquire the skills to harness it effectively for their businesses and their careers. The Lifelong Learning and Future of Work survey found a clear appetite for AI upskilling among workers in Cork, with a quarter indicating that they will need AI training in the next one to three years. The importance that business leaders place on workforce development was highlighted too, as 74% of Cork respondents said they believe that their employer places value on upskilling and reskilling in general, while two-thirds (67%) said their employer provides supports.

Our closer relationship with industry at Skillnet Ireland shows demand for AI skills expanding beyond core technical competencies such as data analytics, machine learning and automation, into human-centred capabilities such as strategic thinking, problem solving and navigating ethical implications. Itag, Skillnet’s Postgraduate Certificate in AI for Professionals was created specifically with non-technical leaders and decision-makers in mind. Developed in collaboration with University of Galway, the programme explains how AI works, what its limitations are, and how organisations can use it ethically and strategically. Tech Industry Alliance Skillnet’s AI programmes in Cork are also targeted to meet the needs of businesses and learners in exploring how AI can be transformative.

How do employers benefit from engaging with Skillnet Ireland’s programmes?

The training programmes are subsidised by Government and in 2025 more than 23,000 companies across the country took up training, with almost 85,000 individuals participating in some form of upskilling training. Since 1999, Skillnet Ireland has been the national workforce development agency of Ireland and so employers that provide upskilling for their employees through Skillnet Ireland training programmes will benefit from the cost-sharing approach. They will also benefit from the fact that, unlike other CPD or learning programmes aimed at businesses, Skillnet Ireland directly partners with 57 industry representative bodies that are listening, on a daily basis, to the needs of businesses, and that can then design and develop the best training programmes to meet these needs. In Ireland, where the population is ageing, skills shortages and the future demand for high-level qualifications in the labour market outpace the OECD average, upskilling and reskilling are particularly important. I would encourage all businesses to engage with a Skillnet Business Network or National Initiative and to sign up for an upskilling or reskilling training programme in their sector, or for more general non-sector-specific training.