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The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh T.D. has announced the appointment of a new Chairman and two new members to the National Skills Council.

Bob Savage, vice president, regional CIO for EMEA and Cork site leader for Dell Technologies, will take up the role as chairman while Deirdre McGlone and Peter Mulrine will represent industry on the Council.

The National Skills Council oversees research from a number of sources including the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit in Solas (SLMRU) and the Regional Skills Fora.

The Council advises on prioritisation of identified skills needs and on how to secure delivery of those needs.  In addition to its role in advising on skills priorities, the Council has a key role in promoting and reporting on the delivery of responses by education and training providers to those priorities.

Minster McHugh said:

I am delighted to announce the appointment of a new chairman and two new members to the National Skills Council. The future world of work is changing at an unprecedented rate and the work of the National Skills Council is pivotal in ensuring that we are addressing the challenges of meeting the identified skills needs for the future.

Bob Savage brings great experience and knowledge from the private sector which will be of enormous benefit to the Council.

Deirdre McGlone and Peter Mulrine have had successful careers in business and will have a wealth of knowledge which will be vital to the work of the Council.

Bob Savage is with Dell Technologies for 31 years and started with the Company in 1988 as a product engineer. Bob has held many different leadership roles in Dell Technologies including: Manufacturing, Engineering, Services and IT. He has been responsible for teams in Ireland, Russia, Egypt and the US. Bob is also chairman of the Governing Body of Cork Institute of Technology since 2011. Bob was a Board member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland from 2013 to 2019 and hhe held the position of President in 2016.

Deirdre McGlone was the owner of Harvey’s Point Hotel in Donegal for more than 30 years. She now works as a hotel and tourism advisor.

Peter Mulrine is the founder and managing director of Mulrine’s Juices which has been operating in Ireland for 100 years. He also has a processing plant in the UK.