Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council have teamed up to launch details of an innovative new cross-border initiative that will map skills and drive job creation and secure investment across the North West City Region.
The purpose of the new project entitled “North West City Region Talent Solutions” is to promote local skills to employers across the region and to highlight to the wider public how they can map their skills and help showcase the wealth of talent and employability that exists in the North West.
The Mayors of both Councils attended the official launch this week where they spoke of the benefits of cross border collaboration in driving investment and job creation in Derry, Tyrone and Donegal.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr Sandra Duffy said she was delighted to be involved with the project.
She said: “This is a really fantastic project and I am delighted we are working with our neighbours in Donegal on such an innovative and worthwhile initiative.
“The cross border partnership approach to promote the region and its wealth of well educated and skilled workforce is the best approach when it comes to investment and skills development.
“This project will not only be of huge benefit to local employers and prospective investors but will also assist local jobs seekers and those living and working in the North West who are keen to look at new job and skills development opportunities.”
An Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr Liam Blaney said he was confident the Talent Solutions Project will put the North West City Region on the map for investment, job and skills development opportunities.
He said: “The people, their skills and experience are our greatest asset and we need to be doing all we can to capture this information and use it to attract new business and investment, create new job opportunities and stimulate economic growth.
“This project has the ability to provide us with real-time mapping of the skills and talent that exist that in turn will allow us to identify skills clusters and skills gap analyses as well identify future skills needs that are required by our employers.
“Doing this on a cross border collaborative basis is an added value and something that will really make us stand out to prospective investors and employers.”
Encouraging people to sign up and register on the skills map, Rosalind Young, Investment Manager with Derry City and Strabane District Council said:
“Whether you’re employed, remote working or job-hunting simply register your skills to help our city region grow and prosper.
“All data collated on the system are anonymised and fully secure.
“The data collated will really assist us in identifying future skills needs required by employers and influencing future policy developments that will stimulate economic growth.
“We are encouraging everyone to get involved by registering and making their skills count.”
To register click on – https://irelandnw.com/talentmap/
The North West City Region Talent Solution Project is a cross border project that is supported by NW Development Funds and financed by the NI Executive and Irish Government.
The project is being delivered jointly by Donegal County Council and Derry City & Strabane District Council in partnership with Abodoo – with a project oversight board comprising ATU, UU, NWRC, Invest NI, IDA, Donegal ETB, and NW Regional Skills Forum.
The key objectives of the North West City Region Talent Solutions project is to map the skills and talent in the cross-border city region.
A global skills mapping platform has been developed by Abodoo, using their ‘Geonostics’ innovative technology.
By having real-time data intelligence on skills, the council says it can discover clusters and identify gaps to enable it to make the right decisions to meet industry, education and people needs.
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