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Irish Medtech sector could create 4000 jobs by 2020

Written by Robert McHugh, on 4th May 2017. Posted in Ireland

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A new report by the Irish Medtech Association Skillnet and Irish Medtech Association has found that the Government must invest in new technologies and skills to reap the benefits from advances in manufacturing or get left behind as the UK and US fight for manufacturing investment and jobs.
 
The report finds that Ireland is recognised as a global medtech hub with 18 of the world's top 25 medtech companies here and more than 29,000+ people working in the sector leading to career paths across Ireland and internationally.
 
Now an additional 4,000 jobs are to be added in Ireland by 2020 according to the report. Notably, nearly a third of these new jobs are to be in specialised areas of R&D and engineering, highlighting the importance of getting the right skills to maintain medtech's reputation as the leading industry for innovation in Europe with 12,400 patents filed in 2015. 
 
Speaking at the report launch, Irish Medtech Association Director, Sinead Keogh said, "Ireland has one of the highest levels of third level graduates across the EU, and this has been a central pillar of Ireland's winning formula for growth. This has been underscored by job creation and investment by the medtech sector, with more than 2,000 jobs added in the past couple of years and €100 million publicly announced in 2016. Manufacturing is Ireland's second largest industry, employing more than 220,000 people and medtech is a key pillar with the potential to expand further in the right conditions."

She added, "Now the Government must invest strategically, not only in infrastructure and education but also in the establishment of an advanced manufacturing centre. Businesses in competing economies are experiencing significant productivity gains from new technologies like 3D printing, collaborative robots, data analytics and the Internet of Things. If we don't have the right facilities, not only will business suffer, but also manufacturing professionals will be compelled to move to get these key skills in facilities abroad."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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