Economic Recovery Action Plan 25 February 2021
Minister launches Economic Recovery Action Plan
Via The Department for the Economy
Image via Pixabay
Northern Ireland’s economic recovery will be driven by innovation, investment and a skilled workforce, Economy Minister Diane Dodds said today. Dr Joanne Stuart, CEO, NITA and Angela McGowan, Director, CBI with Economy Minister at launch of Economic Recovery Action Plan.
The Minister was speaking as she launched the Economic Recovery Action Plan which sets out a road map to rebuilding the economy from the impact of the pandemic.
The Minister said:
“As we move slowly back to normality, we must put all our efforts into restarting, repairing and rebuilding our economy. We must encourage businesses to innovate and lead and we must support workers to prepare for new opportunities.
“My Economic Recovery Action Plan is the blueprint to rebuild a stronger economy in Northern Ireland. We will focus on where we have the greatest opportunity to drive innovation and develop the skills and capability of our workforce to secure better jobs.”
The report identifies supporting a highly–skilled workforce, stimulating research and development, building a greener economy and promoting investment, trade and exports as the drivers to recovery.
It also identifies a number of actions the Department plans to take to stimulate growth. These include:
- the development of a flexible skills fund;
- widening access to apprenticeships by removing the age cap;
- developing proposals to implement a Northern Ireland artificial intelligence centre of excellence;
- delivering the High Street Stimulus Scheme;
- delivering a Tourism Voucher Scheme to stimulate demand;
- accelerating delivery of City and Growth Deals; and
- developing a green innovation challenge fund.
