Ireland's employers are deeply committed to workforce development. Ibec's Skills Survey 2025, surveying 281 CEOs and senior HR leaders across five industry sectors, finds 94% plan to provide training in the next twelve months and 67% are already doing so. Some 78% expect increased competition for talent over five years. The intent is strong; the barrier is the gap between what businesses can access and what the National Training Fund could make available.

The NTF is an underutilised asset. Its surplus is projected to reach €3 billion by 2030 even after planned drawdowns, while businesses that contribute 1% of payroll cannot access the AI and digital skills programmes they need most. Redirecting this resource toward structured digital upskilling would compress the productivity divide and deliver returns on a fund whose purpose is precisely this kind of workforce transformation.

The AI training divide is the most consequential finding. Large organisations are more than twice as likely to train for AI skills (30%) as small firms (13%), and 69% of large firms expect AI to reshape their skills needs within five years, against 41% of small businesses. The EGFSN's analysis confirms 63% of Irish employment is exposed to AI-driven task augmentation. Small firms outside the AI training pipeline face a productivity disadvantage that grows year on year.

The survey is clear on what would resolve the training shortfall. Some 46% cite financial support for direct training costs as the most important intervention and 31% prioritise support for releasing staff. Existing subsidies through Skillnet Ireland and Springboard+ are valued but do not cover full participation costs. Ireland's lifelong learning rate of 16% trails Sweden at 42% and Denmark at 32%, reflecting the cost of underinvestment in accessible training.

Training intent and strategic quality are diverging. Job-specific skills (78%) and health and safety (68%) dominate, while digital skills reach only 34% of organisations and AI skills just 21%. Large companies have dedicated training budgets in 84% of cases; only 46% of small firms do. The National Digital & AI Strategy 2030 addresses this directly through a national AI Skilling Platform, a National Skills Observatory, and a Roadmap for Technology Skills of the Future.

Three priorities define employer action. First, run a digital and AI skills audit against the 63% augmentation estimate and engage Skillnet Ireland to identify subsidised pathways for the highest-priority gaps. Second, organisations without a training budget should establish one, treating digital upskilling as a capital investment. Third, engage Ibec and Enterprise Ireland to advocate for a National Training Voucher Scheme, the most direct mechanism for unlocking NTF resources for SMEs.

The Ibec Skills Survey 2025 confirms Irish employers are ready to invest in their workforce. The instruments to channel that investment productively are in place: the NTF, Skillnet, and a National Digital & AI Strategy with specific skills delivery commitments. Organisations that formalise digital and AI training pathways and engage national policy infrastructure rather than building capability in isolation will be best positioned to convert Ireland's skills ambition into firm-level advantage.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)