Minister confident Ireland's talented workforce will counter effects of Trump tariffs
The minister for further education James Lawless said that government investment in projects such as the Advanced Manufacturing Centre of Excellence will be important in educating young people in the future.
The talent and skills of the Irish workforce is what will attract and retain international businesses should Donald Trump's EU tariffs go ahead, the minister for further education has said.
Mr Trump has a "simple view on world economics", James Lawless said, adding that he does not mean it as a criticism.
"Trade wars and tariffs often hurt the home country as much as the exporter and I don't know whether the United States is in a position to ramp up to supply things like steel and aluminium as quickly as their economy and market might need," said Mr Lawless.
Speaking in Dundalk at the launch of the new Advanced Manufacturing Centre of Excellence, Mr Lawless said multinationals based in Ireland are not here purely because of corporate tax.
"They are here, fundamentally, because of the skills base that we have here, the people we have here, the training and education that those workers have," he said.
The future workforce is going to look very different in the future as we apply modern methods to solve traditional challenges, he said.
The minister highlighted the changes technology is already having in terms of upskilling people as simulators and virtual reality are being used in sectors from construction to healthcare.
Mr Lawless said that government investment in projects such as the Advanced Manufacturing Centre of Excellence will be important in educating young people in the future.
