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Skillnet to help Irish businesses boost digital skills with €1m investment

26 Oct 2021

Skillnet Ireland’s Transform digital skills programme is being rolled out further to reach a wider network of companies.

Skillnet Ireland, the Government-funded business support and talent development agency, is investing €1m to bring its Transform digital skills programme to a wider network of businesses across Ireland.

The Transform programme was initially developed by Skillnet Ireland in 2019 in partnership with TU Dublin and IDA Ireland. The accredited skills course aims to help businesses boost their competitiveness by equipping staff with up-to-date digital and automation skills.

The fresh investment will help Skillnet extend the programme to organisations across all sectors, from SMEs to multinational corporations, to prepare them for the impacts of digital transformation.

Paul Healy, CEO at Skillnet Ireland, said digital transformation is “one of the most significant challenges facing businesses in Ireland” and around the world.

Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy, TD, added that digital transformation will play a central role in Ireland’s post-pandemic recovery.

“As a Government, we are committed to supporting enterprises both large and small on their digital journey with tailored supports available through our enterprise agencies. Part of that is ensuring our workforce are enabled to respond and adapt to the changing landscape,” Troy said.

“It is programmes like Transform, and the graduates it produces, that will help support Ireland’s transition to a digital economy, and to successfully tackle the challenges and fully exploit the opportunities that this transition presents.”

Transform has two streams. The CPD diploma in business innovation and digital transformation, which is aimed at practitioners, provides graduates with a Level 8 qualification, while the CPD postgraduate diploma in leading business innovation and digital transformation provides leaders with a Level 9 qualification.

The programme has already been completed by around 900 people. Dell Technologies recently put 600 of its employees in Dublin, Cork and Limerick through the course, with participants graduating in October of this year.

“Transform helps businesses develop the mindset needed to achieve true innovation,” said Máire Hunt, network director at Technology Ireland Software Skillnet.

“By examining the power of digital transformation, business leaders and their teams gain a practical understanding of how to harness the power of disruptive technologies, improve business operations, engage new and existing customers and increase business value.”

For more information on the Transform programme, see the Skillnet website.

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Blathnaid O’Dea
By Blathnaid O’Dea

Blathnaid O’Dea joined Silicon Republic in 2021 as Careers reporter, coming from a background in the Humanities. She likes people, pranking, pictures of puffins – and apparently alliteration.

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