Over 12,600 people in Cork avail of upskilling

More than 12,600 people and 3,300 businesses in Cork availed of Government-backed upskilling last year.

According to figures from Skillnet Ireland, the national agency for talent development, it delivered more than 76,000 training days in Cork during 2024.

Some 57% of those who undertook training were men and 43% were women, with those aged 30 to 39 availing of supports more than any other age group.

Minister for further and higher education James Lawless said Skillnet Ireland played a key role in developing the talent that Irish businesses need through upskilling and reskilling.

“In 2024, it supported over 24,000 businesses, the vast majority of them small-to-medium enterprises, to address their skills needs in order to remain competitive,” he said.

“By supporting Irish businesses to upskill and reskill, Skillnet Ireland is helping to foster resilience and innovation, so that companies can adapt to and meet the challenges posed by the digital and green transitions.”

He added that 92% of companies in Cork which upskilled their employees through Skillnet Ireland last year were small and medium size enterprises.

“The greatest uptake came from the agriculture sector followed by services, pharmaceutical, food and drink, technology, retail, and life sciences,” Mr Lawless added.

“Companies based in Cork undertook upskilling programmes with more than 50 of the 70 Skillnet business networks based on the sector in which their company operates, or with one of the networks in their region, which include Cork Chamber Skillnet, BioPharmaChem Skillnet, Tech Industry Alliance Skillnet, and Duhallow Skillnet.”

Nationally, more than 24,000 businesses participated in upskilling programmes for their employees through Skillnet last year, amounting to 90,136 workers spread across the Irish economy.