DII to present ready-to-use tools and EEDL findings to ‘future-proof’ Ireland’s dairy sector

# What the event is about

# Why DII is acting now DII says the dairy sector is undergoing significant change. International demand is shifting toward products such as whey rather than traditional items such as cream and cheese. At the same time, DII argues that some of Ireland's traditional selling points—its grass-based production system and family farm model—are less persuasive to global buyers than before. DII frames the response in workforce and skills terms: attracting new talent and upskilling current employees are central to maintaining competitiveness.

# What DII will present

# Concrete tools and how they work

• Upskilling courses: Eighteen fully developed, expert-curated training courses are part of the ready-to-use package. They are designed to speed up onboarding and lift baseline skills for new hires and existing staff.
• Dairy Academy framework: A structure intended to attract and nurture people into research, product development and operational roles inside the dairy and nutrition sector.
• Dairy Learning Hub: An online materials library and virtual training platform that will be demonstrated during the event. DII will show interactive demos so attendees can see how modules run and how content maps to factory-floor needs.
• Shaping the agenda: The event includes sessions where businesses can identify emerging skills gaps and influence ongoing workforce planning and curriculum priorities.

# Who should attend and what they will get The briefing targets industry leaders, policy makers, and academic partners. Attendees will get a first-hand overview of the EEDL outputs, access to immediate training resources, guidance on talent attraction, and the chance to participate in interactive demonstrations. DII says participants can stay an extra hour (until 15:00) for hands-on demos of the Dairy Learning Hub and virtual modules.

# DII's position and messaging DII director Conor Mulvihill framed the event in stark terms: the sector must evolve quickly to remain competitive. His quoted line: "To stay competitive and resilient at a time of such competition for skills in Ireland, we need to evolve rapidly or die." That language underlines the organisation's focus on rapid, operational responses rather than long-term planning alone.

# Event logistics Date and time: Monday, October 5, 11:00–14:00 (option to stay until 15:00 for demonstrations). Venue: Ibec headquarters, Baggot Street Lower, Dublin. Registration: DII is offering free registration online for industry members interested in attending.

# Bottom line The briefing packages the EEDL project findings into practical, deployable resources aimed at immediate workforce and training needs. If a processor, co-op, policy maker, or academic is involved in hiring or skills development, the event and its materials are designed to be directly actionable.