Companies, entrepreneurs and talented professionals from around the world. But as businesses continue to evolve, one challenge is becoming increasingly important: finding people with the right skills.

Recent research found that 84% of Irish SMEs reported skills gaps within their workforce or a need for additional skilled employees. For Dublin businesses, this raises an important question:

How can businesses develop the talent they will need for the future?

What Is Driving the Skills Gap?

Technology, artificial intelligence and changing customer expectations are transforming the workplace. While technical skills are increasingly important, businesses also need people with strong communication, problem solving, adaptability, teamwork and leadership skills.

These qualities cannot always be measured by qualifications alone. A CV can show what someone has studied, but practical experience can show how they communicate, manage responsibility and respond to challenges.

Developing Talent Instead of Waiting for It

When businesses struggle to find experienced candidates, developing future talent can be part of the solution.

This could include investing in employee training, mentoring, giving staff greater responsibility or creating opportunities for students and graduates to gain practical workplace experience.

For Dublin businesses, thinking about potential rather than experience can open the door to a wider pool of future talent.

What Can Dublin Businesses Do?

Businesses can take several simple steps to prepare for future skills needs:

Identify Future Skills

Consider where your business is heading and what skills you will need over the next few years.

Develop Your Existing Team

Training, mentoring and new responsibilities can help employees develop while strengthening your business.

Give People Practical Experience

Real workplace experience allows students and emerging professionals to develop skills that cannot be learned from a classroom alone.

Look Beyond the CV

Enthusiasm, adaptability, curiosity and willingness to learn can be just as valuable as previous experience.

Investing in Future Talent

Businesses have an important role to play in developing the next generation of professionals.

One way to do this is through internships. Welcoming a student or recent graduate gives them the opportunity to gain practical experience while allowing businesses to share knowledge, develop mentoring skills and benefit from fresh perspectives.

For Dublin businesses facing a competitive talent market, investing in future talent could be just as important as recruiting existing talent.

Looking Ahead

The skills gap is unlikely to disappear overnight. As Dublin businesses continue to adapt, the demand for people with both technical and transferable skills will remain important.

The businesses that think ahead will not only ask:

“Who can we hire today?”

They will also ask:

“How can we develop the people we will need tomorrow?”

Internships Worldwide works with companies in Dublin to connect them with motivated students and emerging talent looking to gain practical international work experience.