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L to R: Liam Conneally, Director of Economic Development, Clare County Council; Padraic McElwee, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office Clare; Vanessa Tierney, CEO and Co-Founder, Abodoo; Cliona Lawton, Business Development Manager, Abodoo; Mary Howard, Mayor of Clare. Photograph by Eamon Ward

Innovative plan to put Clare on the map for inward investment


AN innovative ‘talent mapping’ project will position Clare as an attractive location for inward investment, Clare County Council’s Director of Economic Development believes.
Clare County Council in partnership with Irish technology company, Abodoo, have launched the initiative aimed at mapping the talent and skills of those living and working in Clare. The aim of the project is to develop ongoing live skills mapping for the county, align with Clare’s growing international business profile and showcase the broad talent Clare has to offer. The work will leverage Abodoo’s AI skills data information technology in order to identify the skills that exist within Clare.
The Talent Mapping Technology will provide ongoing anonymised data analysis of the skills in Clare, both for persons residing here, as well as the diaspora or those working remotely wishing to relocate to a setting with equal access to urban and rural life, and which allows for improved work life balance. The data provided to Clare County Council will not include personally identifiable information, but it will capture key data points such as skills and location. Those who sign up can opt to allow employers to contact them directly should they wish or can simply add their skills and talent to the county-wide map to allow for better opportunities for County Clare.
Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Councillor Mary Howard, said, “This is a great initiative for Clare County Council to embark on and sets the foundation to deliver future employment opportunities. This proactive approach to skills mapping in Clare will enhance our competitiveness and enable us to uniquely position Clare as an attractive destination for inward investment.” 
At the launch, Liam Conneally, Director of Economic Development of Clare County Council stated, “despite the current economic challenges, Clare County Council is ambitious about growing our population and employment rate in the future and this partnership with Abodoo is the first step in increasing the flow of knowledge on the skillset present in the County. Using the talent mapping platform will enable Clare County Council to position Clare as an attractive location for inward investment building on its strength as a location that offers excellent quality of life while retaining global access through our air, road, rail and sea access infrastructure.”
Vanessa Tierney CEO of Abodoo reiterated his sentiment stating, “we are delighted to be working with the dynamic team in Clare County Council and to bring our skills mapping technology to the MidWest. This continues our goal to develop constructive and long term relationships with local governments, working closely with them to help them identify the skills in their areas and to ultimately ensure that they are best placed to take advantage of the business opportunities ahead in a volatile and ever-changing economic climate.”
The project sees smart-working as normal and something which both companies and government should fully embrace.  The growing importance of digital hubs and coworking spaces as a means for spurring economic growth is a testament to this fact.
As part of the launch, Clare County Council will run an education and awareness campaign across digital and social media platforms to encourage people to sign up to the platform , which in turn will allow the Council to map the skills and talent of our county.
“We would encourage everyone in the County to register on the Abodoo platform to help us map their skills and talents. This valuable information will help us to market County Clare as a desirable location in which to do business and who knows the opportunities that will lie ahead” said Conneally.
For more information please visit abodoo.com/Clare.  You can also follow the campaign on social media using the hashtag #SkillsforClare

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