To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail the process by which the economic factors of (i) skills gaps; and (ii) staff shortages are actioned into policies by his Department.

The new Skills Strategy, ‘Skills for a 10x Economy’, was published in March 2022. It is built around three major policy objectives which aim to boost the supply of skills that will be required to support our economic ambitions over the next decade.

Central to the Strategy’s development is the Northern Ireland Skills Barometer, which details the imbalance between the supply and demand for skills under a high-economic growth scenario. It also highlights the oversupply of people entering the labour market with low or no skills, who consequently face an insecure future in a rapidly changing labour market. With this in mind, ‘Addressing skills imbalances, driving economic growth’ has been established as the Strategy’s overarching policy objective.

The Barometer is updated every two years by the Ulster University’s Economic Policy Centre and provides an evolving evidence base that identifies which sectors are growing and where demand for skills will arise. This evidence will continue be fed into the work of the nine projects which have been designated to deliver the Strategy’s 49 recommendations, and to help inform how they will address the skills challenges over the ten year life of the Strategy.

The Strategy was developed through extensive consultation with stakeholders from business, trade unions, education institutions, the community and voluntary sector and key government departments (Education and Communities). This collaboration will continue as the Strategy work progresses, including through the Northern Ireland Skills Council and engagement with stakeholder groups relevant to each project. Their involvement will be key to ensuring the Strategy is keeps pace with changes in the labour market.

The key strategic priorities to be addressed through the Strategy are:

addressing the prevalence of low or no skilled individuals in our labour force, where a refreshed approach to lifelong learning will be essential;

improving the supply of advanced digital skills (related to cybersecurity, software engineering and computer science) into our economy. There is evidence that undersupply is already constraining business development in key sectors of our economy; and

improving the supply of mid-level professional and technical skills in our workforce, from those leaving education for the first time and through adult learning provision.

Through this continued collaborative approach, the Department aims to deliver on these priorities to help ensure the skills gaps and shortages are addressed and the Strategy’s objectives achieved.