David Hita (25) spent his summers working for Irish software companies while studying information technology in Barcelona.

"Even then I had heard that Ireland was a good place to work, that there was great potential for people qualified in computer science."

His work experience paid off and he was offered a job by an Irish company, KAO, before leaving college in 1996. A year later the company went out of business and he returned to Spain.

At the end of 1998 Oracle offered him a job and he again returned. In the long run, however, he hopes to live in Spain: "I'm happy here but I know I will eventually go back to Spain. I hope that a company based here will send me to its Spanish office."