The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs has published its new report, Together for Design: Digital, Product and Strategic Design Skills of the Future. This study examines the future demand for design skills over the years 2020 to 2025.

Design is an important driver of economic growth, integral to both industry and society. It adds strategic value, creative thinking and innovation from the earliest stages of development through to the final delivery of products and services. The meaning of design has evolved greatly over the past century and, with the fourth industrial revolution, it is evolving again.
Winning by Design, the 2017 predecessor to this report, identified three major types of design as important for Ireland’s economic success:

• Digital design;
• Product design; and
• Strategic design.

Together for Design builds on this foundation, forecasting the need for digital, product and strategic design skills over the years 2020 to 2025. The report finds that by 2025 occupations in digital, product and strategic design could see a growth between 21,000 to 33,000, accounting for 2.8% of all jobs in Ireland. Programmers and software professionals are anticipated to account for the majority of additional jobs. In contrast to this demand, around 1,300 students graduate annually with relevant skills from Higher and Further Education in Ireland.

This research was led by a Steering Group consisting of representatives across Government Departments, State Agencies, enterprise, education and the design community. It combines quantitative analysis based on data provided by the Central Statistics Office, Higher Education Authority and SOLAS, and qualitative research undertaken through a stakeholder survey, one-on-one interviews, and insights from three workshops which brought together representatives from across the design community, enterprise and education in a conversation about design in Ireland.

The final report features a review of the design skills of students in Ireland, an assessment of relevant national and international policies to support and promote design, and the main drivers impacting on current and future design skills.

Read the full report here.

Read the first implementation update here.

Read the latest implementation update here.

Read the predecessor to this report, Winning by Design, here.