North West Tertiary Education Cluster sponsors major all-island labour market conference

The North West Tertiary Education Cluster has been announced as the co-headline sponsor of the ‘All-Island Labour Market: Challenges and Opportunities’ conference, which takes place on Thursday, September 18 in Ballymascanlon Hotel, Dundalk, Co Louth.

The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation’s conference will shine a spotlight on the challenges and opportunities of the cross-border labour market. It will have input from employers, employees, and business support organisations.  

Dr Anthony Soares, the Centre’s Director, said: “North West Tertiary Education Cluster is a success story in partnership working and we’re delighted to have it as our co-headline conference sponsor. The Cluster comprises Atlantic Technological University, Donegal Education and Training Board, North West Regional College and Ulster University.

"Between them, the four institutions have over 85,000 students and learners, and there is a strong focus on world-leading research, skills training, enterprise support and advanced digital technologies.”

In February 2018, the North West Strategic Growth Partnership (NWSGP), in conjunction with the tertiary education providers of the North West City Region, announced a new agreement in education, training and innovation to establish the now titled North West Tertiary Education Cluster (NWTEC).

NWTEC is a strategic alliance of all four publicly funded tertiary education providers in the North West City Region: Atlantic Technological University (ATU), Ulster University (UU), North West Regional College (NWRC), and Donegal Education and Training Board (Donegal ETB). This deep partnership provides the full range of educational services including advanced skills training, cutting-edge innovation supports for enterprise, and internationally recognised high-quality research.

The official launch of NWTEC’s North West Digital Employment Pathways Training Hub (NW DEPTH) initiative took place on 29 April 2025. This project, supported by PEACEPLUS, will run for four years, with the first cohort of learners being recruited shortly, and will see an investment of nearly €10 million in digital skills in the North West region.

Paul Hannigan, VP for Cross Border Engagement at ATU, said: “By working together, our plan is to create a dynamic and successful Shared North West. It will be a connected, high-performing region achieved through research, innovation, collaboration and growth. We’re delighted that NWTEC will join Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor as co-headline sponsors at the Centre for Cross Border Cooperation’s Annual Conference.”

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Joining North West Tertiary Education Cluster and Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor as event sponsors are Accounting Technicians Ireland, Dublin City University, Dundalk Institute of Technology, EPIC Futures NI, InterTradeIreland, Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec), Queen’s University Belfast and Southern Regional College. 

Conference tickets are available through the Centre’s website at www.crossborder.ie