A MAJOR study on the impact of the digitalisation of the manufacturing industry is being commissioned by the Government to examine the opportunities and challenges that it presents the sector.
The contribution of the digital economy to the Irish economy was estimated at €12.27bn in 2015. It is estimated that this could rise to €21.4bn by 2020.
Direct employment in the digital economy is expected to jump by about 50pc between 2015 and 2020 and is estimated to be about 107,500 in 2020.
Against this backdrop, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation – now with the shortened name, the Department for Enterprise and Innovation – commissioned a study to identify the potential impacts, opportunities and challenges in the manufacturing sector and its supply chain arising from digitalisation, highlighting any variations across manufacturing sub-sectors.
“In recognition that digital advancement will play a key part in Ireland’s future prosperity, the Government has set out, through the Action Plan for Jobs, an ambition for Ireland to become a European leader in the digital economy,” the department said in a document tendering for an operator to carry out the study.
It added: “Digitalisation of the manufacturing sector will form a key part of this agenda.”
The objectives of the study include the need to establish the composition and economic importance of the manufacturing sector and its sub-sectors and describe the concept of digital transformation as it pertains to the manufacturing sector and its supply chain.
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