The Irish Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition was established in April 2017 as an association-led, multi-stakeholder initiative bringing together 50 partners from academia and education, industry, the public and not-for-profit sector.
The primary objectives of the Coalition are to strengthen the workforce and the digital inclusion of all citizens while particularly training the young population in digital skills through a modernised education system. Under a Steering Committee, the partners set several priorities, such as promoting a modern approach to teaching, up-skilling the labour force, highlighting ICT professions as a career choice, identifying obstacles to developing digital skills, as well as raising public and employers’ awareness of digital up-skilling.4 There are many examples of best practice documented by the coalition, and they will be showcased on the new website, currently in development under the CEF generic services funding scheme. Coalition members have submitted accounts of what they do in support of digital upskilling, some in the form of pledges and some as case studies and reports.
The Irish coalition members have collaborated to compile a set of more than 20 resource documents, such as reports, action plans and further links, particularly regarding digital skills education and technology. The Coalition is managed and funded by the Irish Computer Society (ICS) and has received a grant through the Connecting Europe Facility Telecom contract to enhance its web presence and connect to the European Digital Skills and Jobs Platform.
