American Chamber of Commerce (US-Ireland Business Conference 2019)

They say a change is as good as a break! A morning in UCC attending the American Chamber of Commerce Southern Conference in UCC was an opportunity for me to learn more about AmCham and the work they do. Joined by my colleagues Graham Baitson, Austin McCann, Lorraine Conachey and Patrick Scannell along with 200 other delegates, we spent the morning learning how companies with close linkages to US-Ireland trade and investment collaborate and take advantage of peer-to-peer learning. The panel was varied with excellent speakers and discussion from various representative’s from UCC, The Tyndall Institute, IDA Ireland, PepsiCo, Dell EMC, Blizzard Entertainment, Analog Devices, IT Tralee, Wisetek and Matheson’s.

 

The Chamber is currently focusing on the talent pipeline emerging from third level education. They are consistently working with both UCC and CIT at an academic level to ensure that industry and academia are collaborating to equip students with the skills required to drive the talent pipeline. Companies now require highly skilled candidates that can deliver to global companies – the interface between the academic world and company requirements is key to making this a reality. The panel acknowledged the importance of developing smart technology however the ability to use it is critical. The competition within the industry for the attraction and retention of talent was also highlighted. There is a constant requirement for transformation – an ability to adapt and change to the workforce requirements.

 

Currently in Ireland, 16% of the workforce is international. Diversity in the workplace is a hot topic with third level college’s encouraging female students to study STEM. A number of companies including McKesson are sponsoring intern and Master’s programmes to drive this. AmCham also supports Senior Leaders in advancing their leadership skills by working in cross-functional groups with peer-to-peer learning through their Mentoring programmes. This event was very informative and I was delighted to hear about the strong collaboration and networking practices that are in place to grow the workforce of the future!