Increasing Job opportunity in Ireland

The Morgan McKinley 2019 Irish Salary Guide forecasts that the total number of people in employment will continue to grow in 2019, with the potential for average salary increases of 5% - 10% for critical skills positions and a creative and holistic approach to total compensation packages to continue to attract and retain professional talent.

2018 saw a strong performance for the Irish economy with GDP growth increasing and the unemployment rate decreasing to 7.3% during the year, its lowest level in eight years.

Ireland job trends sector-wise

• Supply Chain

  According to our own jobs index, the Science, Engineering, and Supply chain sector is by far the most lucrative at the moment. This sector has had more jobs posted than any other since the end of 2016, about four times as many as in 2013.

  Ireland is now seen as a very attractive location to set up global supply chain operations. Salaries in this sector can be expected to continue to grow, as demand surpasses supply and confidence in the Irish supply chain sector builds.

• Accountancy and Finance

  This is a buoyant sector and there is a notable uplift in hiring with significant competition for experienced qualified and newly graduated professionals on a wide basis across accountancy practices, multinationals, SMEs and start-ups including Fintech.

  Salary levels are being pitched very competitively and a moderate uplift is expected in 2019.

• Banking and Stockbroking

  Permanent opportunities were in high demand in retail banking in 2016 and candidates were receiving multiple offers and counter offers, which presented challenges for organisations.

  In Retail Banking, there is strong demand for qualified candidates with the APA or QFA qualification.

  Demand remains strong in restructuring and arrears with a significant increase in demand for financial advisors, new business underwriters, credit analysts and relationship managers.

• Funds

  There is increased demand for fund accountants across all levels and in particular those with specialist skills in private equity or hedge / hybrid fund experience and this will continue in 2017 where 40% of the world’s hedge funds are now administered in Ireland.

• Insurance

  The Insurance market has seen modest improvements and the outlook is positive for 2019.

  Qualified and part-qualified actuaries remain in high demand and there is also strong demand for experienced underwriters, brokers and claims handlers including those with complex and litigated claims experience.

• Information Technology

  Demand for software developers shows no sign of slowing down, with strong demand in particular for .Net developers, system administrators and project managers.

  The most in demand skills in 2016 were in Java, .Net, Full Stack developers as well as a strong demand for software testers.

• There are openings in corporate law, commercial property, banking and financial services, funds management, aviation and aircraft leasing. Skills and experience in high demand include data protection, compliance and company secretarial.

  Legal and Compliance is a growing area for companies as regulatory frameworks become more complex across several sectors including pharma, tech and financial services.

  Salaries will level out moderately in line with a levelling of post-recession increases.

• Life Sciences

  Salaries will remain competitive going into 2017. Demand for science skills is strong across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics with most demand across disciplines including Quality Control (QC), Quality Assurance (QA), Microbiology, Regulatory Affairs.

• Sales and Marketing

  Recruitment throughout 2016 was most active in the Dublin area, with many new roles emerging across brand management, channel marketing, communications, advertising and in particular digital and online marketing. Salaries in 2017 will remain steady with some increases depending on the skill sets and experience required.

• Tax

  This will remain a candidate driven market in 2017 with an increase in demand across all areas of tax (practice and industry) from global mobility and employment tax to VAT, corporate tax and personal tax.

  Companies increased salary levels by 5-10% in 2017 in order to retain existing staff and to attract new talent.

• Construction

  Growth in the building and construction sector will be significant in 2017 as commercial and housing markets react to increased demand. The Construction Industry Federation is predicting sector growth of 9% between now and 2020 and is targeting skilled workers abroad to fill 112,000 vacancies in the process. There will be a strong increase in hiring across all levels of the construction, supply chain, engineering, legal and conveyancing professions.

Not much of the job market and employment branch of the country would be affected according to recent statements by some prolific economists of Ireland.

Recruitments trends

• Talent - the most in demand talent will continue to be in the Pharmaceutical, Financial Services and IT sectors
• Reward Strategies - Career mobility is increasing among the Irish workforce and attrition has become a factor for all companies. Employers increasingly need to focus on the qualitative aspects of working life, including continuous professional development, defined career paths, flexible working and enhanced reward and remuneration programmes.
• FDI – Ireland ranked as the number 1 destination for high value FDI projects for the fourth successive year in IBM’s Global Locations Trends report in 2016 and 7th of 61 countries in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook.
• Returning Emigrants / Immigration – Ireland continues to attract returning emigrants from Europe, the UK, Australia and US, across a range of industries, with immigration of skilled professionals now also a necessary factor and particularly in the multinational sector.
• Soft skills are often the area where employers feel that graduates are lacking. An amazing 56 per cent of employers observe a lack of communication skills in new recruits, and 27 per cent highlight an inability to work independently.
• When it comes to basic ‘hard skills’, writing skills are the number one area in need of improvement, with over 44 per cent of employers stating a shortfall in this area.

Top Recruitments companies and Industries

• Accenture: Management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company Accenture is currently looking for software engineers for its Cork office, and analysts, consultants, IoT architects and developers, digital marketing experts.
• Aon: Global professional services firm Aon is currently seeking data engineers. (https://www.siliconrepublic.com/employers/life-at-aon)
• Bristol-Myers Squibb: Pharma and biologics company Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) is currently looking to fill open roles in quality control, engineering, accountancy and management at multiple locations in Dublin. (https://www.siliconrepublic.com/employers/life-at-bristol-myers-squibb)
• Fidelity International: Investment solutions firm Fidelity International has open roles in business operations and management, legal, and tech consultancy, at its Dublin-based offices. (https://www.siliconrepublic.com/employers/life-at-fidelity-international)
• Kemp Technologies:Kemp Technologies, which develops load balancing products for organisations, is currently looking to hire German-speaking network support engineers at its Limerick location. (https://www.siliconrepublic.com/employers/life-at-kemp-technologies)

Start-ups trends in Ireland

To help start-ups prosper and hence help the economy flourish, every country does something or other for funding and other resources needed for kick starting a start-up. Ireland also got its own set of facilities it provides to start-ups so that they can prosper. One of those supports is provided by Enterprise Ireland. They offer a comprehensive range of supports to high potential, export focused start-ups to make it as easy as possible to start a business in Ireland and expand into global markets. Some ways in which they support are:

• Funding Businesses
• Advice, mentoring and introductions
• Practical help to enter overseas markets

The future of Ireland is bright with many more flourishing industries and start-ups if the government keeps on functioning properly. Or else no one knows, how bad the economic crisis become if Government is unsettled.

Here are some of the successful start-ups of Ireland

Beats Medical: Headed by Ciara Clancy, Beats Medical is a smartphone app that treats people suffering from Parkinson’s disease to regain ‘mobility, speech and dexterity’.

Bizimply: Headed by Gerard Forde, Bizimply offers one stop solution in people and shift management to the service industry including restaurants, retail and hospitality sector, bars, salon etc. Their features include employee scheduling, time and attendance, payroll time card and business reporting, all in one place.

Tr3dent: Tr3dent produces innovative 3D data visualisation software that helps organisations see their data in a natural three-dimensional environment, therefore making it easier to analyse, which leads to better decision making. “We help companies identify and capitalise on opportunities to improve performance by seeing their business data in ways never seen before,” said Kevin McCaffrey, founder and CEO. “We are currently targeting our data visualisation platform at enterprise clients in the ICT market and looking to expand into other verticals such as health, finance and travel over the next 18 months.”