Empowering Ireland’s skills transformation
Mark Jordan, chief executive of Skillnet Ireland, speaks with Joshua Murray about his strategic priorities, the race to build capability in digitalisation, AI, and climate action, and why employer-led, lifelong learning will determine Ireland’s competitiveness in the decade ahead.
When Mark Jordan stepped into the Chief Executive role in April 2025, he did so with the advantage of familiarity. Having previously served as Chief Strategy Officer for almost six years, he already understood the machinery of the organisation, the expectations of government, and the intricate network of stakeholder relationships that underpins its work with enterprise.
However, the transition has still been transformative. The CEO role, he says, brings a wider lens and a sharper emphasis on representation, influence, and readiness for growth.
“It has been a very productive first year. A lot of my focus has been on further developing the profile of Skillnet Ireland across our stakeholder groups and continuing to work with our Minister and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science as well as the broader skills and enterprise support ecosystem. At the same time, we have been strengthening our internal capacity and making sure we are prepared to scale.”
The dual strategy of external engagement and internal preparation defines the environment Skillnet Ireland now finds itself in. Demand for upskilling has never been clearer but meeting it requires constant evolution in how programmes are designed, funded, and delivered.
Alongside this, Jordan, and the Skillnet Ireland board have been developing the agency’s next three-year statement of strategy, which will guide the organisations priorities out to 2028. The organisation’s new strategy Empowering Enterprise 2026-2028 – A Strategy for Building Next Generation Capability was developed over the past year following extensive consultation.
“Future-focussed upskilling drives economic resilience and business transformations.”
“Ireland’s economic success is built on talent and innovation and now more than at any other time in our history, it is critical that we keep pace with evolving technology and working methodologies to ensure our skilled and agile workforce remains the primary driver for our industrial growth.”
“Our new strategy outlines Ireland’s desired global position as a hub of talent while also detailing practical enablers and signals how the agency addresses both enterprise needs and labour market policy. We are placing a strong focus on future skills and innovation to enhance Ireland’s competitiveness and sustainable growth across all sectors and regions.”
A business-led model
Jordan is quick to return to a foundational principle. Skillnet Ireland is employer-led and industry-driven. Its legitimacy comes from alignment with the commercial ambitions of firms.
“We are the national workforce development agency, but everything we do is in partnership with business,” he explains. “We talk to companies about where they want to go commercially and then ask, do you have the talent to get there?”
If the answer is no, the organisation helps to close the gap by sourcing, adapting, or co-creating the necessary provision. Skillnet Ireland supports more than 24,000 companies and over 90,000 trainees annually and this ranges from SMEs seeking incremental improvement to large corporates undertaking major transformation initiatives.
Some upskilling interventions are highly technical and sector-specific while others are cross-cutting, focusing on leadership, management capability, digital adoption, or sustainability literacy. Together, they form a national infrastructure designed to make enterprise more adaptive.
Strategic anchors
Jordan states that three strategic anchors shape his decision-making: digitalisation, artificial intelligence, organisational optimisation and sustainable business practice.
“When we engage with industry through network and programme partners, steering groups or direct company interaction, the conversation consistently leads back to those key mega trends.
“Business needs vary widely. At one end of the spectrum are organisations building AI products and platforms. At the other are firms simply trying to understand how existing tools can be embedded into daily operations. Through our 70 Skillnet Networks and national initiatives we serve both.
“We cover the full range. From postgraduate programmes co-designed with universities right through to introductory certificates or even one-day tutorials. Adoption, implementation, and development are all part of the picture.”
Sustainability follows a similar pattern. While technical green skills matter, leadership understanding how a sustainability strategy affects competitiveness, access to markets, and long-term resilience is equally critical. “How do you run a sustainable business? How do you develop strategies that allow you to compete domestically and internationally?” he asks. “Those are the capabilities our business leaders want to develop.”
Lifelong learning culture
Strengthening Ireland’s culture of lifelong learning, Jordan believes, is fundamentally important, especially as skills evolve and working practices change.
“Technology plays a key role in this, and we want to make sure we are equipping our businesses and workforce to be successful and competitive as these changes evolve. In areas like AI and digital technology, delays in undertaking upskilling can be costly as innovation can outpace user readiness, creating frustration and lost productivity.”
Over the course of the next three years, Skillnet Ireland will focus its supports to ensure that companies across Ireland have access to the skills and capabilities they are seeking. Enterprise-led training offers employers many benefits, believes Jordan.
For companies, the benefit extends beyond performance. Investment in development aids retention and signals seriousness about the future. “It is important now, but it is also critically important for where the business wants to be in five or 10 years,” Jordan says. “If you invest in your people, they are more likely to go on that journey with you.”
Mobilising mid-career agility
One of the most important consequences of that responsiveness is the ability to support workers looking to traverse sectors to meet evolving national challenges.
“Economic change rarely happens evenly. Some industries slow while others surge, and Ireland must be able to redeploy talent efficiently,” Jordan says.
Offshore wind provides a vivid example. Even before full infrastructure is in place, companies entering the sector are already scaling and seeking specialised expertise.
“There are technical nuances that do not yet exist elsewhere, but there are adjacent sectors where people have core competencies. The task is to create pathways so they can acquire the additional skills and transition,” Jordan says.
“We want Ireland, through the Skillnet model, to continue to be recognised as a world leader, and the standard-bearer for lifelong learning.”
Ireland’s Talent Landscape
Insight into employer thinking is sharpened by the organisation’s research. The Ireland’s Talent Landscape 2025 report offers a snapshot of sentiment across industry.
Its figures are striking. 40 per cent of businesses report difficulty finding employees with essential skills. Almost 80 per cent expect their staff will require digital upskilling. 66 per cent foresee a need for climate and sustainability capability.
For Jordan, this is confirmation that awareness is high. “Businesses are telling us they can see the challenge coming. They know they do not have everything they will need in the future.”
That honesty creates opportunity as it enables Skillnet Ireland to focus investment where it will make the greatest difference and to reduce the lag between emerging demand and available expertise. “It is empowering for us. It shows where we can really move the dial for the economy.”
Embedding a culture of progress
Leading a national body that operates across diverse regions and sectors demands flexibility. Jordan emphasises empowerment, where industry partners are given parameters and strategic direction but are trusted to engage and deliver the right solutions locally.
Skillnet Ireland’s proximity to enterprise gives it an advantage and its networks are in constant conversation with firms and can react quickly when demand shifts.
The obligation is to keep improving. “We can never stand still. Business competitiveness does not stand still, and the development needs of our businesses and workforce keep evolving,” he says. Increasingly, Skillnet Ireland’s engagement with companies resembles advisory work, linking talent decisions directly to commercial strategy, digital transformation and sustainability mandates.
Leadership approach and ambitions
Jordan’s leadership of Skillnet Ireland is shaped through strategic direction. Jordan frames his vision for Ireland to be a world leader in terms of how government, enterprise and education can collaborate. He also wants to ensure employers clearly understand the Skillnet Ireland value proposition and to expand its reach.
In the medium term, he aims to build an environment that allows the organisation to scale, supporting more companies and more workers, while developing the systems and resources necessary to do so.
In the long term, the ambition is national. “We want Ireland, through the Skillnet model, to continue to be recognised as a world leader, and the standard-bearer for lifelong learning” he says, acknowledging the attention that this approach already receives internationally, particularly within the European Union.
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Profile: Mark Jordan
Jordan brings more than two decades of international experience in financial services and fintech, having previously lived and worked in the UK, US and Switzerland. Raised in London to parents from Clare and Wexford, he moved to Ireland eight years ago. He lives in Kildare with his wife, two teenage sons and rambunctious golden retriever. |
