EGFSN Members Attend Launch of NSC Report - Skills Matter
Members of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs attended the official launch of the newly reformed National Skills Council’s inaugural publication – Skills Matter: Priorities to Shape Our Future Capabilities on 3rd July 2025. The report was accompanied by the reconstituted NSC’s first strategic advice to Government.
The publication is the culmination of the Council’s work to date on the future of skills and workforce development in Ireland. The event was hosted by the Chair of the National Skills Council (NSC), Kevin Marshall, and included a short presentation from the OECD on the background to the Council’s reform. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, also addressed the event. The morning concluded with a panel discussion with representatives from enterprise and the wider skills ecosystem. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) welcomes the publication of today’s report and will continue to engage with the National Skills Council as they work to advise on Ireland’s skills policy priorities.
The National Skills Council is an advisory, non-statutory body made up of high-level representatives from Irish industry, social partners and main non-governmental stakeholders. As the primary national partnership platform, the Council follows a demand-led approach and works to provide the Minister and Government with independent strategic advice to effectively shape policy responses aligned with labour market needs. The Chair of the EGFSN, Tony Donohoe, is a Member of the National Skills Council.
In its’ advice, the Council recommended the establishment of a new National Skills Observatory to improve the coherence and availability of skills data across the skills system. Tony Donohoe, Chair of the EGFSN, acted as Chair of the NSC Working Group that developed the proposals for the National Skills Observatory. The NSC report also recommended targeted leveraging of the National Training Fund and supporting the mainstreaming of flexible learning opportunities.
Participants at the event included: Kevin Marshall, Chair of the National Skills Council; Sorcha Carty, Higher Education Authority; Barry Comerford, Sauleen Holdings; Helen McMahon, Enterprise Ireland and Member of the EGFSN; and Emma Kinsella, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and Member of the EGFSN.