Tech

Interview: ‘We become prisoners of our own history . . . Many people don’t realise they have an aptitude to work in IT’ — Barry Lowry, chief information officer

The chief digital advisor to the government on his ambitious targets for MyGovID and why more workers in their 40s should be encouraged to retrain for well-paid jobs in IT

Barry Lowry, the government’s chief information officer: ‘With the right retraining, people can learn the necessary skills.’ Picture: Fergal Phillips

Barry Lowry considers himself one of the luckiest people alive, but he knows that not everyone or everything can be left to the bounce of the ball. That’s why the government chief information officer is on a mission to make more opportunities for more people to succeed in the tech sector.

Originally from Belfast, Lowry is a lifetime public servant and his role is to be the chief advisor on all things digital to the ...