Wednesday, 6 July 2022
Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council have teamed up to launch a new cross-border initiative that will map skills to help identify the talent needs of local business to drive job creation and secure investment across the North West City Region.
The purpose of the project entitled “North West City Region Talent Solutions” is to work with employers across the region to identify skills needs and to highlight to the wider public how they can map their expertise to showcase the wealth of talent and experience that exists in the North West of Ireland.
Businesses and employees are being asked to complete online skills surveys to help map existing skills available in the region and identify future skills needs required by employers.
The Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council and Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council officially launched the initiative this week and spoke of the benefits of cross-border collaboration in supporting local businesses, driving investment and enabling job creation in Donegal, Derry and Strabane.
The Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr Liam Blaney is confident that the Talent Solutions project will put the North West City Region on the map for investment, job creation and skills development opportunities.
He said “ the people, their skills and experience are our greatest asset, and we need to be doing all we can to capture this information and use it to attract new business and investment, create new job opportunities and stimulate economic growth. This project has the ability to provide us with real-time mapping of the skills and talent that exist allowing us to identify skills clusters and gaps as well identify future skills needs that are required by our employers. Doing this on a cross-border collaborative basis is also an added value and something that will really make us stand out to prospective investors and employers.”
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr Sandra Duffy is also delighted to be involved with the project.
She said: “This is a really fantastic project, and I am delighted we are working with our neighbours in Donegal on such an innovative and worthwhile initiative. The cross-border partnership approach to promote the region and its wealth of well-educated and skilled workforce is the best approach when it comes to investment and skills development. This project will not only be of huge benefit to local employers and prospective investors but will also assist local job seekers and those living and working in the North West who are keen to look at new job and skills development opportunities”.
Encouraging businesses and employees to sign up and complete the respective online skills surveys, Anne Marie Conlon, Head of Economic Development with Donegal County Council said “the data collated will really assist us in identifying the existing skills currently available in the region as well as identifying future skills needs required by employers. This data will help us inform future policy developments that will stimulate economic growth. We are encouraging everyone to get involved by registering and making their skills count.
The North West City Region Talent Solution Project is a cross-border project that is supported by NW Development Funds and financed by the Irish Government and NI Executive.
The project is being delivered jointly by Donegal County Council and Derry City & Strabane District Council in partnership with Abodoo - with a project oversight board comprising ATU, University of Ulster, North West Regional College, Invest NI, IDA, Donegal ETB, and NW Regional Skills Forum.
The global skills mapping platform has been developed by project partners Abodoo, using their ‘Geonostics’ innovative technology. By having real-time data intelligence on skills, skills clusters and gaps can be identified to enable both local authorities to make the right decisions to meet industry, education and people needs.
