Back in 2021, The Open University’s annual Business Barometer report revealed 69% of Northern Ireland businesses believed there was a skills shortage in their organisation. In the same year, the Economy Minster outlined her 10x strategy for the Northern Ireland economy, stressing the need for businesses to be bold and ambitious to make a generational change in the space of a decade to find new and innovative ways to overcome challenges linked to skill shortages.

Three years on, as the combined long-term effects of Brexit and the pandemic continue to impact businesses in the region, there is mounting pressure on employers of all sizes to redouble their efforts to adapt to a rapidly changing labour market and help close skills