THE GOVERNMENT HAS today published a plan for the creation of 20,000 new jobs in the manufacturing sector by 2016.

Last year, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton tasked a group of industry experts on the advisory board, Forfás, with delivering a plan to target additional jobs in the sector.

Key actions have been proposed across a range of areas including access to new funding, management training and support, costs reduction and technology adoption.

Some of the proposed measures proposed are:

• A new start-up fund run by Enterprise Ireland, specifically targeting supports for new manufacturing start-ups
• Enterprise Ireland to introduce a new Capability Fund to support capital investment by manufacturing companies
• EI and IDA to target additional financial supports for R&D investment specifically targeted at engineering firms
• A new National Step Change Initiative available to all EI and IDA client companies that will systematically support manufacturing companies to expand their client base through staff training, improve their adoption of new technologies and research and acceleration collaboration between companies in similar sectors
• Proposals to maintain or reduce costs to manufacturing companies across areas like energy, waste, regulation, tax etc
• Better targeting of training at skills shortages in the manufacturing sector through the implementation of the Manufacturing Skills study.

The strategy recommends building on strengths in pharma/biopharma, medical technologies, food, ICT, engineering, and off-site manufacturing (construction).

It also suggests focusing on global supply chain networks and new product introduction as well as developing new technologies and materials.

Commenting on the launch of the plan today, Bruton said the government believes that the sector has “substantial capacity for jobs growth” and that this plan is achievable “with the right supports from government”.

Read: IBEC report shows over 5,000 new jobs created in Q1>