Enhancing our competitiveness and building resilience in our Region Our competitiveness reflects our capacity to sustain economic growth. Resilience is our preparedness and capacity toweatherunprecedentedsituations andexternal shocks. Both features, competitiveness and resilience, are underpinned by skills development, innovation capacity, trade and competition, and infrastructure investment. Future Jobs Ireland places a strong focus on increasing productivity and boosting participation rates to take advantage of technological changes. It also ensures that we enhance skills as we move to the low-carbon economy. Future Jobs Ireland will focus on five pillars: • embracing innovation and technological change • improving SME productivity • enhancing skills and developing and attracting talent • increasing participation in the labour force • transitioning to a low carbon economy The RSES recognises that SMEs are the backbone of local communities. They play a key role in economic resilience through generating employment and contributing to innovation. However, Future Jobs Ireland states that productivity has declined and identifies deliverables and targets to tackle this issue.
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Locations for Employment Development It is an objective to: a. Ensure employment locations follow the hierarchy identified in Chapter 3, and ensure theyarebuilt fit-for-purpose. This includes the provision of access to utilities, connectivity, and other enterprise development factors; b. Identify future locations for strategic
employment development having regard to accessibility by sustainable transport modes and environmental constraints. Support a positive presumption in favour of locating appropriate employment where it would address unemployment blackspots, support sectoral and location-based strengths and synergies with existing employers, take advantage of ‘ready to go’ property solutions and local ambition.
c.
Funding initiatives such as the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF), are in place to stimulate greater interaction and collaboration between local and regional stakeholders. The competitive REDF provides opportunities by harnessing existing strengths such as technologies and innovation poles, stimulating multi- disciplinary approaches to facilitate growth of emerging industries, enhancing collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship, and under-utilised assets. It stimulates the bottom-up approach of local and regional stakeholders to prepare projects and compete for funds. (Refer also to Chapter 9).
Components required to develop resilient and competitive economic growth
Skills & Talent
Innovation
Resilient & competitive economic growth
Infrastructure
Entrepreneurship
International Trade
Enterprise Development
Southern Regional Assembly | RSES
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