News and Events

Smart Futures Seminar - 19th May 2011

ICT Ireland and the Irish Software Association (ISA) are the representative bodies of the technology sector within IBEC. The sector represents over 74,000 employees and accounts for approximately €50 billion of exports annually.

Despite the economic difficulties Ireland faces, the technology sector is growing and vibrant. On a weekly basis, both indigenous and multinational technology firms are committing significant investment to Ireland. Since the beginning of the year, 1,500 new jobs have been announced, on foot of 3,500 jobs announced in 2010 and a 6% employment growth rate in 2009.  However, as the demand for skills in the sector grows, companies recruiting IT specialists are experiencing difficulties in filling open positions.  Furthermore, this is not just a sectoral issue limited to the technology industry, it has an adverse affect of all sectors of the economy which utilise IT and IT-based solutions to increase productivity, and contribute to innovation research and development.

In the context of convincing people to pursue degrees in a technical field, our industry would like to invite you as our guest at this year’s Smart Futures event which will be held on May 19th at 9.00am at Engineers Ireland, Clyde Road, Ballsbridge.  This event which is run in association with Engineers Ireland and supported by Discover Science and Engineering brings together key industry leaders from Fujitsu, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Google as well as pioneers from the  indigenous software sector.  Discussions will focus on the skills needs of indigenous software and multinational companies, current employment opportunities and the future potential of the sector in Ireland. With the development of Ireland as a centre for cloud computing and the digital games industry, Ireland is at a pivotal turning point where we have the chance to give our population the skills to become employable and to attain a fulfilling and enriching career through technology.


Only through a concerted effort by Government and industry , Ireland can be developed as an international hub for technology talent and foster jobs that are key to the future growth of our economy.With this in mind we would like to formally invite you to this event as a guest of ICT Ireland and the Irish Software Association. We hope that you will consider this invitation favourably and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

For further information and to RSVP please follow this link.

Innovation Through Collaboration Rescheduled

Due to the ash cloud the 2 day Innovation Through Collaboration event has been rescheduled to take place on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd June. There are still a number of places available so please be sure to register asap with susan.kelly@ictirelandskillnet.org to secure your place at what promises to be an exciting, hands-on approach to the exploration of the dynamics between collaboration and value creation. Click here for more details. This event is aimed at CEO's, senior managers and functional managers accountable for or interested in creating value through interaction of inter-organisational and intra-organisational entities.

ICT Ireland Skillnet Launch with An Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan, TD

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Mary Coughlan, TD spoke at the launch of the ICT Ireland Skillnet and the Annual Review of the Software Skillnet.  Both Networks are engaged in significant educational and training programmes to enhance the skill and capacity of employees of member companies and are achieving notable success in this regard.

As part of the Launch and Annual Review a number of companies and individuals were recognised for their contribution to the Networks to date.  Click here to view some photos.

ICT Ireland Skillnet Sponsors Intel Research & Innovation Conference

The European Research and Innovation Conference (ERIC) took place on Intel’s Technology Campus in Leixlip, Co Kildare, on September 10-12.  It featured speaker topics on current research and innovation in; Silicon and Nanotechnology, ICT, Manufacturing Technology and Digital Health.  

FUNDING SECURED

ICT Ireland were successful in securing funding from Skillnets for an ambitious programme of training and educational courses for 2008-2009 to be carried out under the ICT Ireland Skillnet.

LAUNCH OF TWO SKILLNETS

The ICT Ireland Skillnet in conjunction with the Software Skillnet will be having a launch in 2008. Further details to follow soon.