If we don’t build it they won’t come !

 

The ‘it’ we are referring to is Northern Ireland’s skills base. Now with the very real prospect of an attractive rate of corporation tax in Northern Ireland, following the news that Royal Assent has been granted for corporation tax varying powers, it is important to remember it is not a silver bullet for the local economy. Equally important is the need for a steady flow of skills and talent to meet the needs of a modern knowledge based economy.

To date, much of the focus has been on corporation tax powers and while there is still more work to do on the eventual implementation of the powers, at face value it represents a great addition to our economic armoury. Those involved in GROW NI who have championed the cause deserve great credit.  On its own however, it is not enough and you have to question the efficacy of current government planning and whether there is joined up thinking - especially when you see where some of the budget cuts are now falling.

Jim Stewart, Chairman of Sentinus,  the leading educational charity which delivers Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) engagement programmes to over 60,000 pupils across Northern Ireland, has said that recently announced “Budget cuts to STEM education will have a detrimental effect on our ability to attract young people into the sector and in turn severely hamper the growth of the local knowledge economy.”  He has a very valid point. Calling the cuts "short- sighted” he argues strongly that they run entirely contrary to core government strategies designed to build a knowledge economy and attract additional foreign direct investment  - central to which is an attractive rate of corporation tax. Following the logic,  if corporation tax does indeed make Northern Ireland a more attractive place to invest, we actually run the risk of creating unrealistic expectations with inward investors which down the line we can’t fulfil. They will only come if we have the right talent with the right skills – and we know increasingly that in a knowledge based global economy that means STEM based skills.

Sentinus and others in the STEM education space have had major cuts to their relatively modest budgets which have resulted in some popular school programmes having to be shelved. This is despite clear evidence that the work they do delivers significant return on investment and are a vital part of engaging with the next generation of engineers and broader knowledge economy talent.

They and others operate at the critical early seeding stage, their work designed to encourage more of our young people (and their parents) to see the value and critical importance of STEM subjects for modern economies.  Even with current funding they struggle to meet demand – and that is with the schools which are already engaged and which have already bought into the strategy. There are many other schools which aren’t fully engaged and which still need to wake up to the necessity of a STEM educated workforce. This would suggest we need more STEM advocacy and promotion in our schools – not less.  

According to Sentinus, the latest cuts are already affecting our young people and their educational experience in the important STEM subjects. They are convinced that unless these cuts are reconsidered, in the long run they will severely hamper our aspirations to grow a knowledge economy and our ability to service the demands of future inward investment.  It’s hard to disagree.

If that wasn’t bad enough, other cuts proposed in third level and higher education are likely to also impact negatively on our skills offering and again seemingly contradict other elements of our economic strategy.

We understand that the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre is currently working on a skills barometer which might bring some much needed focus to the potential gaps in our strategic thinking. The need for investment in skills and the benefits derived from an educated workforce have been recognised for a long time. However, it is clear that the appropriate information is not available to assist young people to take well informed decisions about their future careers or for  industry to highlight their changing needs. Hopefully it will also prove useful to our local decision makers when they are considering future economic strategy and prioritising budgets.

An analysis of economic activity per head in each of the 12 UK regions and the levels of qualifications in those regions shows a very clear correlation between these two factors. While London is the clear ‘winner’ unfortunately Northern Ireland is one of poorest performing regions. This makes a very strong case for further investment to deliver a strong skills base in Northern Ireland. If we build it, and offer an attractive rate of corporation tax, investors and jobs will come.