The 13th Annual NERI Dónal Nevin Lecture took place in the Queen's Business School, Belfast on the Riddel Hall site, in the Harvard Lecture Theatre on Thursday 22 January 2026 from 18:30 - 20:30.
Ms. Sarah O'Connor, columnist & associate editor, Financial Times delivered the annual lecture as the keynote speaker. She presented on 'Good jobs in a changing world'.
Please find Sarah O'Connor's presentation here. Also, the video of the lecture here.
The details were as follows:
Title: 'Good jobs in a changing world'
Keynote speaker: Ms. Sarah O'Connor, columnist & associate editor, Financial Times
Respondents: Ms. Ethel Buckley, Deputy General Secretary, SIPTU and Stephen Kelly, Chief Executive, Manufacturing Northern Ireland
Chairperson: Mr. Jim Fitzpatrick, Consulting Editor at The Irish News
Date: Thursday 22 January 2026
Location: Queen's Business School, Belfast
Lecture Format:
Ms. Sarah O'Connor, columnist and associate editor, Financial Times made her presentation on 'Good jobs in a changing world'. This was followed by a response from Stephen Kelly, Chief Executive of Manufacturing Northern Ireland and Ethel Buckley, Deputy General Secretary of SIPTU. The chairperson Jim Fitzpatrick chaired the Q&A session and put forward questions to all the presenters.
Abstract:
The UK economy has generated plenty of jobs over the past decade, but there has been an underbelly of insecure work and low pay. Will new employment rights in Northern Ireland and the rest of Great Britain lead to better quality work? And do they equip workers, unions and employers to face the next decade, which will be shaped by automation and AI?
Speakers details:
Sarah O'Connor is a columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times. She writes a weekly column about work, technology, economics and society, and co-authors a weekly newsletter about AI and the labour market called The AI Shift. She joined the Financial Times in 2007 and has covered the US economy from Washington DC, the UK economy from London and the financial crisis from Iceland.
Ethel Buckley was elected a Deputy General Secretary of SIPTU, Ireland's largest Trade Union, in 2017. As Deputy General Secretary for Organising and Membership Development she is responsible for the union’s organising, campaigning, education and learning, communications, equality and network of District Councils. She has led high profile successful campaigns such as Stop 67, Justice for Clerys Workers and the Fair Play campaign for union recognition for the ROI women’s football team.
Stephen Kelly is CEO of Manufacturing Northern Ireland. Stephen represents the interests of the sector to Governments in NI, UK, the EU, and the US in areas which impacts on Northern Ireland’s position as a location to create, grow, and sustain a manufacturing business. He was a member of the UK Government’s Board of Trade, UK National President of Junior Chamber and the BBC’s Broadcasting Council and is currently on the Board of a local arts based social enterprise as well as a Visiting Professor in Ulster University’s Business School. In March 2024, Stephen was appointed by the Northern Ireland Economy Minister to Chair the Taskforce to double number of students at Ulster University’s Derry ~ Londonderry campus.
Chairpersons details:
Jim Fitzpatrick is a Consulting Editor at the Irish News. He used his three decades of journalism and braodcasting experience to help people in business learn from the best with the Training Up podcast which delves deep into personal business stories and the big economic issues. Jim helps companies reach their audiences and tell their stories in this fast-changing digital age. He brings conferences, seminars and round-tables to life as a presenter and a host.