Medtech to add 8,000 jobs by 2028

Eoghan Ó Faoláin

Director, Irish Medtech

Ireland’s medtech sector’s workforce is expected to grow at a rate of 3% annually in the next four years, with 56,000 workers expected to be directly employed by 2028.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Patrick O’Donovan TD recently launched ‘Talent to Thrive: Future Skills for Ireland’s Medtech Sector 2024-2028’ which sets out the latest research by Irish Medtech and the Irish Medtech Skillnet.

Skills required in medtech workforce

The study found that the most urgent skills required by the medtech sector include digitisation, data analytics and automation. The fastest growth predicted is in research, development and innovation (RD&I) at 7% annually, highlighting the need to equip this growing workforce as our global medtech hub moves up the value chain to compete internationally.

The most urgent skills required by
the medtech sector include digitisation,
data analytics and automation.

Recommendations outlined in the report

• RD&I: Embrace smart technology, scale the industrial PhD, embed sustainable design thinking into RD&I, improve technical training in materials and grow critical thinking skills.
• Manufacturing: Evolve with advanced manufacturing through digitalisation and advanced data analytics skills while integrating immersive technology, such as virtual reality, to provide training for operators with minimal impact on production time.
• Regulatory affairs: Adapt for new areas such as smart devices and the AI Act, understand rapidly rising markets such as India and China, as well as empower regulatory affairs to make an organisational impact by expanding skills to include areas such as project management and data analytics.
• Human resources (HR):Adopt digital tools to support efficiency gains, broaden transversal skills in key areas such as problem-solving and commercial acumen, as well as repurpose content delivered across other units in shorter more flexible formats for HR.
• Sustainability: Deliver organisation-wide training across all employees to build a broad understanding of sustainability concepts, supported by targeted technical training for key personnel in areas such as Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requirements, as well as empower employees to make data-led decisions by combining digital skills with an environmental, social and governance mindset.

As we plan for the future, Ireland, like other international hubs, is seeing macro-trends. These include accelerated digitalisation, automation and artificial intelligence. We’re also seeing changing ways of working and a growing focus towards sustainability, which will impact not only how the sector operates but also how we develop talent.