Ireland’s EU Presidency comes at an exciting moment when Europe is trying to strengthen productivity and accelerate AI and green transitions. None of that happens without the right mix of skills and capabilities writes KPMG’s Conor McCarthy.
Addressing the challenge
In the next six months Ireland’s role will be to help Europe address a talent challenge, a conversation we are particularly well placed to lead.
Our own economic success has long been built on investment in people, skills, education and international talent. As such, we can be a credible convenor on the talent agenda.
Talent matters to competitiveness
For a number of reasons, talent has become one of the most important drivers of economic growth and competitiveness. Capital and physical investment still matter but growth is increasingly concentrated in digital and AI-intensive activity, and talent is clearly central to sustaining expansion in those areas.
In this context talent has become a differentiator, and talent development and adaptability is a competitive advantage. There is also a skills shortage emerging.
The Council recognises the requirement to address this issue directly and business leaders agree: three in four EU organisations identify skills shortages as a barrier to long-term investment.
That pressure will intensify. Ageing populations and looming retirement cliffs are shrinking the supply side while technology continues to generate demand for new skill sets.
Roles and capability demands might be emerging faster than education systems and employer training programmes can keep pace with. Irish businesses are already responding accordingly.
KPMG’s 2026 Enterprise Barometer found that workforce and skills was the single most commonly cited spending priority among business leaders.
Where the Presidency can move fastest
Three policy areas define the opportunity during the remaining period of Ireland’s EU Presidency. The first is attracting talent and equipping people for the future.
That means progressing initiatives like the EU Talent Pool, which widens access to global talent to help address Europe’s workforce shortage, alongside the ongoing work in developing the digital confidence and AI fluency required for a robust European economy.
Another important policy area is advancing negotiations on the EU research and innovation framework and the proposed EU Innovation Act. The third is scaling.
That means encouraging member states to work with trusted national partners, like Enterprise Ireland here in this country, who share the scaling ambition for companies in their respective member states.
What businesses are asking of policymakers
Progress on talent won’t come from policymakers or businesses acting alone. It requires shared effort and a few of the key areas we might focus on would be:
Turning intention into investment
If there’s one thing I’d want people to take from Ireland’s Presidency it’s a mindset shift in how Europe thinks about and invests in its talent. The EU has called out human capital or talent as the bloc’s greatest asset.
The task now is to act on that recognition and to treat investment in people as the mechanism by which long-term value and sustainable growth are delivered.
If we can use these six months to put people at the centre of Europe’s growth agenda, the wider ambition of a fairer and more secure Union will become more achievable.
Get in touch
Ireland's EU Presidency will help shape the future direction of Europe.
To discuss how this could impact your organisation, get in touch with Conor McCarthy; we'd be delighted to hear from you.
