Speaking 1: What is ICT

Hi my name is Even Huan Hi my name is Chris Horn and we want to talk to you about the ICT sector in Ireland ICT stands for information and communications technology and that means that covers all of the technologies and businesses involved in the creation and processing of digital information that includes all fines of computing from building web pages to write and software to control a rocket from assembly the home computer to managing a complete office computer system from creating special effects for the film to designing the technologies broadcast TV and radio across the globe from studying the appropriate computer equipment to customer to providing the support needed to ensure the successful use of a new software system in a large organization this is a big industry really big in fact it's the largest business in the world and it's growing all of the time why well because at its heart it's concerned with making life easier and better for everyone of us hi I'm Lionel alexander and the Vice President and Managing Director of hewlett-packard manufacturing here in the league slip kill their the ICT sector is a very key sector that not only drive the economy and the future island but more importantly is changing the lifestyle of people every day in ireland there over 70,000 people working in over 1,300 firms directly involved an effective IC to use a big part of our economy much bigger than it is in the UK or most of the rest of the world Ireland a tiny country barely visible on the globe is one of the top three exporter of software and the world neither 10 top software companies in the world have significant operations here islands is home to many global players across all I city business areas such as internet space data storage semiconductors telecommunications software and computer systems with instantly recognizable names such as Intel del Microsoft IBM Apple HP Google Ericsson sap yahoo and even Facebook the sector accounts for approximately a third of the country's expert which is hugely important for our economy by any measure the ICT sector has been a significant drive in the arch economy whether in terms of employment output for the creation of wealth as well as been engaged in a range of business functions they provide the enabling technology to other sectors it has been a source of successful Irish enterprise and startups and has contributed men stage the economic success of the country in church the ICC section Ireland can boast world-class industry achievement one of the main reasons we have such a strong presence in the sector's equality and diversity of our workforce the location of the world's top level software companies in Ireland has meant the critical mass of technical and professional expertise has been reached in the sector the availability of highly skilled individuals are both graduate and senior level positions allows software companies to access a group of people that is essential to achieve growth in the industry we also have a lot of qualified people from a wide range of nationalities who can contribute their technical knowledge and skills and their native language yourselves the ever-increasing need to provide services globally from operations based here recent figures and students entering carrot level 2 arising demand for engineering and technology courses we are now realizing that the world needs more people who are technologically we're in every industry in Sector the National Skills strategy compiled by the expert group on future skills needs has found that the requirement for technical knowledge will rise across almost all occupations in the future even in times of rising unemployment demand for highly qualified graduates in disciplines including computer science and engineering is expected to continue this is also true or of the supporting roles which the technology depends the current economic downturn may affect the timing of that demand but it is unlikely to affect the overall trend we as a nation let's ensure that I remains one of the best performance in terms of producing people who combined their technical know-how from the science engineering technology areas people include the development of ICT skills into their career planning will always be in a stronger position to adapt to the changing world Connery and ensure that Ireland's ICT that there continues to hold this position on the world stage my name is tomorrow and the general manager of Intel and are kids coming to the system today who have an interest in science engineering and technology should have no fears about the future of working in that industry here in Ireland so if you want to have an aspiration that's beyond essentially a good job and a good career think about the aspiration of being involved in an enterprise that makes a difference across the whole globe Intel in Ireland and companies like Intel and Ireland have a challenge on their hands and that's to continue to help Ireland b'fast be nimble because we're operating on a global stage and Arlen needs people working in engineering and technology it needs the best brains working in those environments so that Ireland as a nation can prosper and grow the future is changing IC technology is changing the world it's going to change the way people consumed in the knowledge that the way people distribute the knowledge and the way people use their knowledge if you want to change the world and if you want to make a difference choose ICT as a career band.