The US can learn significant lessons from watching how the Irish economy and workforce has grown over the past decade, according to Dr Ray Marshall, a former US secretary of labour in the Carter administration and chair of the Ray Marshall Centre for the study of human resources at the University of Texas.

Speaking yesterday after a Fás conference entitled Future Skills Needs, Dr Marshall said as a small country Ireland has had the opportunity to adapt to change in a way that has been almost impossible for the US.

He said there was a mindset among US people whereby they found it hard to adapt to change, and as a result a considerable amount could be learnt from the Irish experience.

He commended Ireland for its recognition of the importance of education and the acknowledgement that a more qualified workforce could lead to improved creativity and innovation. Mr Marshall believes these traits, and innovation in particular, are two of the key components for future economic success.

"Our challenge in the US is to develop people," he said, adding that as a nation the US was finding it hard to believe that human resources, and not natural resources, were the basis for economic progress today.

The importance of people was also emphasised by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin. He said it was well known that the right mix and level of skills were needed to succeed as a knowledge-based economy in what was becoming an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

He said the State's highly-educated workforce had played a key part in the economic success of recent years, but warned against complacency for the future. The challenge now was to develop Ireland's human capital through upskilling, training and education.