The Northern Ireland Skills Council has been relaunched by Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald at its first full meeting since a review, giving HR and workforce planning teams in Northern Ireland a clearer view of where skills policy advice will concentrate.

Northern Ireland Skills Council is an independent advisory body on skills policy, bringing together expertise from business, employees, education, government and the third sector, chaired by Kathleen O’Hare.

Department for the Economy is the Northern Ireland Executive department responsible for economic policy and skills strategies, with Dr Caoimhe Archibald serving as minister.

National Skills Council is Ireland’s primary national skills partnership platform, providing independent strategic advice to the minister and government on skills policy aligned with labour market needs.

The strategic logic connects skills policy to employer demand through a thematic structure. The Council will focus initially on digital skills and artificial intelligence, green skills, and future skills and advanced manufacturing, supporting the Department’s Economic Vision and Sectoral Action Plans.

Kathleen O’Hare, chair of the Northern Ireland Skills Council, said: “The relaunch of the Skills Council provides an opportunity to strengthen the connection between skills policy, employer needs and economic development.”

The structural driver is a renewed operating model focused on strategic advice on key workforce and skills challenges.

Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: “Skills are central to building a more productive, regionally balanced and sustainable economy, creating good jobs and ensuring people have the skills to take up new opportunities.”

The Council will also strengthen collaboration with Ireland’s National Skills Council, which met its Northern Ireland counterpart at Ulster University in Belfast in June 2025 to explore all-island collaboration.

Approximately 25,000 people live, work or study across the border, according to an article by O’Hare in the Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland, which proposed a Common Work Area across the island.

For the sector, the relaunch gives HR and workforce planning teams a defined set of skills priorities and a route for employer input through a council drawing on business, education and employee representation.

Source: Department for the Economy / Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland