Almost 4,000 people taking part in upskilling courses in Limerick

ALMOST 4,000 people have taken part in upskilling courses in Limerick.

That’s according to Skillnet Ireland, which drew employees of 1,100 local companies to its courses in 2022.

The national agency for workforce development delivered over 29,200 training days across Limerick last year.

Six in 10 people who took part were men, while the largest cohort of people were aged between 30 and 39 years of age.

The vast majority (93.2%) of the 1,100 Limerick companies that upskilled their workforce with Skillnet Ireland in 2022 were small and medium enterprises.

The greatest uptake came from the services sector followed by the agriculture, technology, health, manufacturing, life sciences and engineering sectors.

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Companies based in Limerick undertook upskilling programmes with 66 Skillnet Business Networks, including Limerick Chamber Skillnet.

Skillnet Ireland chief executive, Paul Healy said: “As a knowledge-based economy nurturing our highly skilled workforce is central to our national competitiveness.

The Skillnet Ireland annual report for 2022 shows that nationwide, upskilling and training programmes to the value of €70.2 million, were provided to almost 25,000 businesses and over 92,000 workers across the Irish economy and the regions.

Companies contributed €26.5 million or 37% of the total investment towards upskilling their staff, a €4 million increase on 2021 the last time figures were compiled.