3 Empowering Employers

A thriving private sector is crucial to healing the wounds of the recent crisis and to the jobsrich economic recovery that Ireland needs. Empowering businesses to grow and to hire workers is at the heart of the philosophy underpinning the Action Plan on Jobs. Ensuring firms can access the skilled workforce and the financing they need is crucial, while there may be scope to better incorporate the local and regional dimension into job creation efforts.

Significant institutional reforms are under way across the employment, training and economic development system. Combined, these reforms will have a fundamental impact on policy planning and delivery relating to job creation. Building on the efforts to date in the 2012 and 2013 Action Plans for Jobs (APJs), there is scope going forward for more concerted and coherent action in the following areas:

xMobilising employers to play their part in the employment and skills system to ensure the

future needs of the economy are met.

xStimulating productivity by better using skills within domestic sectors.

xStepping up efforts to improve access to finance for SMEs.