Minister Lawless Warns Ireland at Critical Moment in AI Skills Race

The Minister convenes industry and education leaders to tackle urgent AI skills gaps and prepare Ireland’s workforce for rapid technological change

At a national skills roundtable today, Minister James Lawless will warn that the rapid and unprecedented impact of Artificial Intelligence on work and daily life has brought Ireland to a “critical moment”.
Minister Lawless was speaking at ‘AI Workforce Readiness’, the third national skills roundtable he has convened, bringing together leaders from industry, government and education to examine emerging skills gaps, system challenges and ongoing policy responses, and to help shape Ireland’s future direction.

AI Skills Race for Ireland

The event is taking place in the context of the whole of Government national Digital and AI strategy, “Digital Ireland – Connecting our People, Securing our Future”. This sets out several actions for the tertiary system, which are advancing under the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

The high-level forum, hosted at Vodafone’s headquarters on St Stephen’s Green, comes amid growing recognition that the pace of AI adoption is accelerating faster than workforce preparedness across many sectors.

Speaking at the forum, Minister Lawless said: “AI is transforming our economy and society at pace, and our response must match that scale and speed. That is why I am bringing together leaders from industry, education and across Government to drive a coordinated national response. We are investing in flexible upskilling through micro-credentials, strengthening collaboration between enterprise and education, and ensuring our training system is aligned with real workforce needs.

“Earlier this year, I launched the AIReady.ie platform with the ambition to upskill one million people in AI. Building on that, I recently repurposed €4 million to support the Learner Fee Subsidy scheme until the end of the year, delivering several thousand micro-credential courses, more than half focused on digital skills, to ensure people right across Ireland can seize the opportunities AI presents.

“Ireland has the opportunity to lead in the age of AI, but only if we act now to equip our people with the skills to succeed.”

Speaking about the forum, Minister Marian Harkin said:  “Further education and training must lead the response to AI driven change. We need to arm our people with the skills to navigate a labour market where technology both complements and transforms our work.”

This morning’s discussion will inform ongoing Government efforts to strengthen skills across priority sectors, in the context of rapid change across Ireland’s economy and skills landscape. Further sector-focused roundtables will be convened in the coming months, with professional services scheduled next.

An Roinn Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta
Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science 

gov.ie/dfheris

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