5-year Plan to Future-proof the Manufacturing Sector
The Government recently launched Ireland’s Industry 4.0 Strategy at the Irish Manufacturing Research Centre in Mullingar to help firms respond to the transformation of the manufacturing sector being driven by new digital technologies. The Strategy was developed as part of Future Jobs Ireland, the whole-of-Government framework to prepare our businesses and workers for the future. It covers the period 2020–2025 and will support the development and adoption of new digital technologies in the sector.
It builds on our industrial capabilities developed over decades, our thriving community of indigenous supply chain SMEs and the presence of world-leading software and ICT industries. Collaboration will be critical to the widespread adoption of new technologies and the Strategy sets out a number of supports to enable that collaboration to take place.
Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD said: “The manufacturing sector is a critical part of Ireland’s economy, particularly at a regional level. It supports 227,000 jobs directly and 4 out of 5 of those jobs are outside Dublin. Digital technologies are transforming the sector. This presents challenges but also opportunities and we must embrace the change to sustain the quality employment it creates right across the country.
“This strategy includes a suite of actions that supports and promotes collaboration across the various stakeholders involved. By working together, we can ensure a bright future for this important sector.”
Highlights in the Strategy include:
- 18 strategic actions to address challenges including technology adoption, changing business models, skills, innovation, productivity and competitiveness.
- Details of supports that are available to upskill the existing manufacturing workforce as jobs roles change, and to provide the right mix of ICT and engineering skills.
- Establishment of a new group, Future Manufacturing Ireland, to coordinate the activities Government-funded research centres in this space, and make it easier for companies to access the expertise that they need.
- Establishment of an Industry 4.0 stakeholder Forum to oversee implementation of the Strategy, which will include representatives from the manufacturing sector as well as Industry 4.0 experts.
As part of the Government’s response, Minister Heather Humphreys also announced the approval of Enterprise Ireland’s investment in the Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) Centre, a joint initiative between Enterprise Ireland and the IDA. The funding package over five years amounts to €23.5 million which represents a 57% increase from the previous phase (2015-2019).
The funding will enable IMR to leverage funding in the region of €43 million from industry and competitive sources by 2024. Detailed plans have been developed by IMR under each of the main research themes: Digitisation of Manufacturing; Automation and Advanced Control; Design for Manufacturing; and Sustainable Manufacturing. As part of these plans IMR expects to triple the number of training days and to increase the number of Intellectual Property commercialisations by 467%.
IMR impacts hundreds of companies each year and has several specialist production capabilities which are unique in Ireland such as state-of-art additive manufacturing equipment, AR/VR lab, cobotics and industry 4.0 demonstration lines which are being developed on foot on Regional Development Funding. IMR is able to deliver a turn-key solution for industry from design to pilot production and test.
The Minister added: “The Irish Manufacturing Research Centre plays a pivotal role in ensuring that Irish manufacturers are equipped to deal with the changes on the horizon. This funding will allow them to scale up their operations in Rathcoole and Mullingar and position Irish manufacturing at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
