With a major seminar on the Skills Gap in Northern Ireland upcoming, Account Executive Jack Gibson profiles one of our expert speakers.
The skills gap in Northern Ireland is a major threat to our future prosperity. Solving it will take innovative thinking and strong leadership.
In facing such a challenge, we’re lucky to have Dr Joanne Stuart OBE on our side. As Director of Development at Catalyst Inc (formerly the NI Science Park), Joanne is ideally placed to advise on how to provide the skills to drive Northern Ireland’s knowledge economy.
Joanne has over 25 years’ experience in the IT industry, both as a business owner and working for a major multinational. It’s this that has led to her being one of the region’s leading proponents of STEM subjects among young people.
She was appointed by the Minister for Employment and Learning to be the NI Champion for STEM from 2011 to 2016. She also served on Matrix, the Northern Ireland Science Panel.
In these roles, Joanne has provided ideas on how to ensure NI has sufficient highly-skilled workers to grow its Science and Technology sector.
The pace of technological change means that if we don’t invest in these skill sets, we’ll find it hard to compete in a globalised world. On the other hand, if we ensure we train enough highly-skilled workers, NI will gain the sort of competitive edge sure to be vital post-Brexit.
The challenge of encouraging young people to study STEM, and Government to support it, is a serious one. But in Joanne we have a passionate, experienced advocate for this vital cause.
To hear Joanne, and the rest of our impressive speaker panel, please click here to register for a place at our seminar on 26 January 2017.
