A lack of investment in training and research and development could undermine the North's ambition to move to a knowledge driven economy, a major study will reveal today. New research published by the Northern Ireland Economic Council has identified "prominent weaknesses" in key areas including information communications technology (ICT) and innovation.
The council said its analysis showed the background conditions for the North to compete as a knowledge-led economy were favourable but it warned that, without investment in critical areas, weaknesses would be exposed. The report, The Knowledge- Driven Economy: Indicators for Northern Ireland, highlights the need for the North to move from intensive industries to "knowledge-intensive" sectors.
Traditional industries in Northern Ireland, such as heavy engineering and textiles, have sustained heavy jobs losses in the past three years and are expected to decline further as the North struggles to compete on global labour costs.
The need for the economy to make the transition from a manufacturing-based economy to one built on high-tech industries is strongly supported by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The latest annual report from the Industrial Development Board shows that 91 per cent or 6,940 of all new jobs negotiated by the agency last year were in high-tech manufacturing and international traded services such as software.
Strategy 2010, the economic blueprint drawn up for the North by the private and public sector, aims to raise the economy's GDP per capita from 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the British average.
The Northern Ireland Economic Council believes it is vital for the North to be in a position to participate in new industries such as ICT and research and development it if is to achieve these ambitions.
The council said its latest research was designed to help government and the private sector plan for the future. It added that a greater understanding was needed of key issues including:
what the knowledge-driven economy is
where Northern Ireland stands relative to the British position
what the implications are for Northern Ireland.
Researchers compared a number of factors such as economic stability, investment in people and industry, and the productivity of Northern Ireland in assessing its potential as a knowledge-driven economy.
"Weighting these indicators results in an overall index for Northern Ireland of 81.7 per cent of the UK average in terms of competitiveness as a knowledge-driven economy," the study states.
The council said the results showed Northern Ireland could be competitive as a knowledge-led economy if it was prepared to invest in training, ICT, research and development, and innovation at this time.
