Cedefop Ireland Skills Forecast 2030

The latest Cedefop skills forecast on the performance of the Irish labour market across industry sectors has just been published While the data presented reflects pre covid times it does nevertheless confirm important employment trends versus qualification levels of our workforce.

Participation rates among older age groups, particularly among females, are expected to see fairly rapid increases over 2020-30. Rates for females aged 50 and above are projected to increase by 10 pp or more over this period. Participation rates for males aged 60-64 are also expected to increase by more than 10 pp over the same period. These changes among older people reflect Ireland’s commitment to re-training and supporting older workers, most likely affected by robotisation and digitalisation.

The Irish economy will require a high number of highly skilled individuals in the ICT and finance sectors to avoid shortages. Similar figures are expected for
healthcare professionals in terms of new jobs and total openings. Compared to the EU-27, a higher share of job openings is expected to involve high qualifications, the same share is expected to require medium qualifications, and a lower share is expected to require low qualifications, reflecting the availability within the labour force. The high share of high-level graduates in Ireland means that some graduates are employed in jobs that are below their skill levels, which is projected to continue into the next decade.

The report can be read in full here Cedefop Ireland Skills Forecast 2030.pdf (size 2.3 MB)