Question

Using economic theory and based on your knowledge of the Irish labour market, outline the various factors driving Ireland's need to update the skills of its workforce.

Answer 1

The factors driving Ireland's need to update the skills of the workforce are as follows-

1- As the Ireland is aiming to achieve the full employment level but still is quite a distance away from the goal, it needs to update the skills in order to increase the efficiency and achieve the goals faster.

2- Skill upgradation is also necessary to enable the workforce to function at their full level of potential and energy. Lesser skills can cause inefficiency and may lead to economic losses.

3- It makes the workforce more responsive towards the changing needs of the participants, enterprise and the community.

4- Skill upgradation is also necessary because Ireland is a small economy and the workforce if needs to shift from one occupation to the other then it must be skilled enough to perform the other work also.

5- Skill updation will also enhance the education level of the country in present and at the future thus improving the future of the economy.

6 - Reduces the inefficiencies in the operations and thus increasing the level of production and the speed of operations and ensures greater safety of the workforce.