Diversity and Talent

One of Ireland’s key assets is its people. With one of the highest rates of third-level education in the European Union, Ireland’s highly skilled and adaptable workforce is an important factor in the attractiveness of the country as a location for international financial services firms.

Supports for in-demand financial skills

‘Ireland for Finance’ details a range of activity underway and in development to support the current workforce and future talent pipeline for the international financial services industry. This includes a broad range of specialist educational and training programmes including micro-credentials in areas such as artificial intelligence; masters-level programmes in areas like blockchain, fintech, and compliance; and apprenticeships in insurance and financial services.

Case Study – MSc. in Fintech Innovation from Munster Technological University

The MSc in Fintech Innovation offered by Munster Technological University aims to equip graduates with critical insights into Fintech across the key pillars of finance, technology and innovation.

Conor Hall is a recent graduate from the programme and is now the co-founder of ConnectGreen, a Carbon Management and Exchange SaaS platform with Carbon Accounting and Sustainability Reporting functionality for businesses who are subject to CSRD regulations.

Conor stated:

“The knowledge, subject matter expertise, and support of the lecturers on the programme was superb and the broad industry knowledge and support of my class peers only added to the benefits of the programme.

It allowed me to network, study and work with managers, business founders, analysts, and C-suite executives in the Fintech Industry who also took part in the programme. The programme also allowed me to continue working in my full-time job in the Fintech industry while studying part-time in the evenings over 2 years, which I found incredibly beneficial as I was almost immediately able to apply my newly gained knowledge to my role.

The insight and knowledge that I gained through the MSc. programme would culminate in the development of my own start-up where I managed to successfully pitch and raise funding to develop my business”.

One of Ireland’s largest indigenous fintech firms, Fexco, has used the course in the career development of senior IT professionals, who undertook the programme to upskill on key regulatory and technological changes that will impact Fexco’s products and strategy. Fexco have stated: “The MSc course delivers on MTU's (and Fexco's) commitment to innovation and lifelong learning, ensuring that the Irish financial services market has the right talent and skills for the future”.

Future skills needs

This work is further supported by a recent report on the future skills requirements of high potential sub-sectors of the international financial services sector from 2023-2027 by the ‘Expert Group on Future Skills Needs’, which was published in 2024.

Work is underway on the nine recommendations from this report to meet Ireland’s future international financial services skills needs. This will ensure that the necessary skills are developed to support the sector’s growth now and into the future.

Ireland particularly aims to be at the forefront internationally in the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The Government’s strategy “AI – Here for Good: A National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland” was published in 2021 with the aim to drive the development and adoption of trustworthy, person-centred AI for economic and societal good. In 2024 a refresh of Ireland's National AI Strategy was published to take into account the significant developments in AI technology and regulation since the original strategy was published in 2021.

Ireland hosts a number of leading providers of AI systems and will have a crucial and high profile role in the EU-wide implementation of the EU AI Act, which is designed to promote the adoption of human-centric, trustworthy AI and ensure that the EU remains competitive for AI investment and innovation.

Alongside a range of further and higher education courses provided by educational institutions, there are several Skillnet Business Networks providing upskilling and specialised training in Artificial Intelligence (AI) including Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet, Technology Ireland Digital Skillnet, itag Skillnet and Tech Industry Alliance Skillnet.

Supporting diversity

Additionally, a diverse workforce is also key to Ireland’s success in financial services. In recent years there has been considerable progress made in the area of diversity in financial services.

Initiatives such as the Women in Finance Charter, the Financial Services Inclusion Network (FuSIoN), and Balance for Better Business continue to shape the future of Ireland’s financial services sector and the Government will continue to focus attention towards this through the implementation of the strategy in 2025.

• Discover a selection of active diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives relevant to international financial services at the link below