The government has allocated €5.74 million for equipment across seven projects at Irish institutions. The funding covers precision manufacturing tools, advanced imaging systems, and materials testing facilities.

The funding isn’t explicitly for space companies but it supports the kind of capabilities space companies need. It helps startups move from prototype to production and allows manufacturers to compete for more valuable work.

“By investing in advanced equipment for our Technology Gateways and Technology Centres, we are giving Irish businesses the tools to turn ideas into market-ready solutions faster and with less risk,” said Enterprise Minister Peter Burke.

The equipment matters because space hardware must work in extreme conditions with no easy way to fix problems once it's in orbit. Having better facilities here means development teams can verify designs earlier and spot flaws in materials.

The investment adds to Ireland's technical capacity as the domestic space sector tries to scale beyond early-stage development.

Irish space companies know exactly what skills they need. The training providers exist. The courses are out there.

And yet 64% of companies say training is too expensive. Another 68% can't spare staff time to send people on courses. Around a third report that local or national training simply isn't available in the areas they need.

This is our third look at the Beyond the Horizon workforce report, examining why this gap exists and what it means for a sector trying to capitalise on a global space economy projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035.

Most companies were recruiting for space-related roles in the past year, looking for technical, software or data-focused staff. But they kept running up against problems.

"Insufficient experience and missing skills were the main drivers of difficulty in recruitment," the report states. These shortages are particularly acute at mid-career and senior levels. The report attributes this to "a limited domestic talent pool and intense competition from semiconductor, medtech and large technology firms."

Most technical development happens through conferences, shadowing and on-the-job learning. Only half of companies use external accredited courses.

Take ISO 9001 training - the international standard for quality management systems. Companies need their staff, including administrators and office managers, to understand quality terminology and process discipline.

But getting someone trained often means a week abroad. Flight, hotel, course fee, lost productivity.

ECSS training - the European Cooperation for Space Standardization standards that govern space hardware assembly, documentation and mission assurance - presents the same problem. The report notes that "ISO and ECSS courses are particularly costly for SMEs."

Companies have expressed a clear preference for short courses. The report states: "The overwhelming majority of organisations selected 1–2 day training formats, and a smaller but still significant group preferred 3–5 day courses."

Multi-week programmes get little uptake. Companies can't pull engineers off projects for that long.

On credentials, space firms here are pragmatic. They value industry-recognised certificates, like ESA, ISO and aerospace standards. But they also value Skillnet or professional short courses that might not be formally accredited but deliver practical knowledge.

Engagement between companies and universities is patchy. Most companies do school talks and take on interns. Half support student projects. But only 14% co-design curriculum with universities.

The report explains: "SMEs reported lacking the bandwidth to initiate structured engagement with education providers, even though they value it. They want universities to take the lead on guest lectures, joint technical roadmapping, and coordinated internship programmes."

When companies do seek training, they prefer internal training or external specialists. Universities rank much lower.

There are exceptions. UCD's M. Sc. in Space Science and Technology received specific praise for being "applied and industry driven." It's the only dedicated space programme in Ireland. The University of Limerick's immersive software course "was consistently flagged as a progressive successful model to emulate."

The report identifies specific training needs that would address current gaps:

A national Space 101 course - for HR, sales, finance and admin staff who need to understand space-specific terminology, product lifecycles and regulatory environments.

Engineering training on the constraints of developing products for the space environment. Systems engineering. Embedded software. RF engineering. Earth observation and data analytics.

Hands-on software tools training - Systems Toolkit, Matlab/Simulink, AI/ML frameworks. It’s all about practical working knowledge.

Commercial skills for founders and senior technical staff: market modelling, competitive analysis, customer development, pricing strategy. The report notes that many founders come from scientific backgrounds and haven't been trained in these areas.

Investor training on deep-tech venture timelines, risk profiles and capital intensity - because investors used to software startups don't understand why space hardware companies need more capital and longer runways.

Around a third of companies report gaps in systems engineering, with a similar proportion expecting to hire for it.

The report stresses: "Staff need to apply rigorous, traceable systems engineering approaches. As companies move up the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale, they need stronger programme management, quality assurance and quality control competencies, and mission assurance expertise."

The recommendation is direct: "ISO 9001 fundamentals and basic quality principles should be included at undergraduate level in engineering and science programmes." If graduates arrived with this baseline, companies wouldn't be paying to train it later.

Make existing training more accessible. Increase awareness of funded options. Develop partnerships between providers to subsidise courses.

Create new short courses as micro-credentials. These would be practical, modular offerings in the 1-5 day range.

Increase access to ESA-aligned training. ECSS standards and ESA training shouldn't require international travel.

Expand undergraduate curricula. Embed systems engineering, quality fundamentals, commercial skills. Address gaps in mechanical design, simulation, software, data processing, optics, laser systems. Make space applications part of existing STEM courses rather than requiring entirely new degrees.

Replicate what works at UCD and UL.

This is our third look at "Beyond the Horizon: Building Ireland's Space Workforce," commissioned by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

Mbryonics | Galway

InnaLabs | Dublin

Skytek | Dublin

European Space Agency (ESA)

Editor's Note on Links: Some companies use a single "Job Listings" page rather than unique URLs for each role. For ESA, if a direct link expires, the Job Req ID provided helps readers find the specific role on their main portal.