According to the research, as structural issues begin to limit growth, business leaders are urging policymakers to align strategies and revamp workforce development.
Ibec, the group representing Irish businesses, has issued a new report exploring the correlation between workplace AI and consistent learning strategies.
The ‘Skills for all, skills for life’ report warned that unless there is a deliberate shift in the national approach to lifelong learning, Ireland will fail to capitalise on the long-term economic potential of AI. As it stands, Ibec found that 64pc of roles are going to require significant reskilling.
The report, which was supported by professional services firm Accenture, suggested that by failing to proactively and adequately reskill the workforce in support of a transitioning workplace environment, a massive portion of the country’s competitive advantage could be put at risk, hindering Ireland’s ability to benefit from the “multibillion-euro opportunity being created by AI”.
AI is redefining occupational tasks, impacting roughly 82pc of working hours in Ireland according to Ibec. As a result, the workforce has to respond and adapt quickly, prioritising strategic investment, as “ leaders cannot afford to defer spending for a future crisis”, when the disruption to the workforce is “happening right now”.
Potential avenues for improvement are, according to the report, a commitment to treating the closure of emerging structural restraints as a shared responsibility among the Government, educational systems and employers; securing a strong graduate pipeline; and building an “AI-native” workforce.
Commenting on the report, Kara McGann, the head of skills and social policy at Ibec, said: “We are just at the precipice of the change happening as a result of AI. As a country, we cannot be passive or hold back our intent or resources in supporting the transition required to meet the opportunities and challenges that will come with it.
“We have a multibillion-euro training fund sitting on the sidelines, acting like it’s a rainy-day fund, when given the level of disruption that we’re seeing, we’re actually in the middle of a monsoon, facing the most profound and unprecedented technological shifts since the industrial revolution and simultaneously a global talent competition.”
She added: “While Ireland may not necessarily be a global hub for AI development, we can equip our workforce to be globally renowned as ‘AI natives’, which will provide a real competitive advantage for us. To achieve this, we need to considerably alter our approach to lifelong learning and its participation rates.”
She suggested enacting a change that shifts the national mindset toward continuous learning, resolving the funding cycles of the National Training Fund and establishing an integrated AI reskilling plan, to ensure that Ireland becomes a net beneficiary of new opportunities.
Audrey O’Mahony, managing director and talent reinvention lead at Accenture, added: “Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping how work gets done, not just how quickly tasks can be completed. As roles evolve, the real challenge is whether organisations are investing at the same pace in people as they are in technology.
“Building the skills that create value in an AI-driven economy requires more than access to tools, it demands a deliberate focus on capability, confidence and the redesign of work itself. Reskilling must be treated as a core business transformation priority, embedded into how organisations operate and how work is continuously reinvented.”
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