Fastrack into Information Technology (FIT) has announced plans to upskill 400,000 people in AI by 2030, giving HR and L&D teams in Ireland a national training pathway to address the AI skills gap in their workforces.

FIT, established in 1999, is a nonprofit representative organisation for the technology sector, committed to growing Ireland’s tech talent pipeline, led by Peter Davitt, chief executive. Financial figures are not publicly available.

IBM SkillsBuild, run by IBM Ireland, is a free digital education programme available through FIT’s AI Training Centre of Excellence.

The strategic logic starts with assessment. The AI Training Centre of Excellence assesses learners’ current capabilities, provides guidance and maps individuals to learning pathways aligned with their current knowledge, interests and career aspirations.

The structural driver is a growing AI skills gap. FIT said roughly 2.9 million people make up Ireland’s workforce, so equipping 400,000 with high-value AI skills is a meaningful contribution to preparing the country for the future of work.

Peter Davitt, chief executive of FIT, said AI will radically transform the profile of Ireland’s workforce and the roles people perform in the years ahead. He added: “Our ambition is to ensure access to AI skills is not limited by background, education, employment status or geography. By helping 400,000 people develop AI capabilities by 2030, we aim to support an inclusive approach to workforce transformation that benefits individuals, employers and the wider Irish economy.”

Nathan Cullen, country general manager at IBM Ireland, said: “The countries best placed to benefit most from AI will be those that invest in their people as much as the technology itself.”

Forrester research released earlier this year indicated that failing to commit to long-term, inclusive AI education can greatly affect organisations and widen the AI skills gap, while an Accenture report found AI-related skills among the fastest growing in employer demand.

For the sector, the commitment shows employer-backed training bodies setting national-scale AI upskilling targets, with HR and L&D teams able to route employees to assessed learning pathways and certification opportunities.

Source: Silicon Republic