A leading multinational computer company has appealed for Irish students to consider computer science-oriented careers to ensure the country retains its position as a desirable place for computer companies to locate.
The appeal was made by Hewlett-Packard in Leixlip, Co Kildare and comes just days before the July 1st deadline for Leaving Certificate students to submit "change of mind" forms to the Central Applications Office.
At the same time the Government is considering how best to attract inward investment from high-technology companies to the regions outside Dublin.
The IDA last week announced that it intended to direct more than half of all its new greenfield start-ups to the Border, midlands and western regions, and had identified the network of Institutes of Technology as being significant providers of the graduates required by computer companies considering Ireland.
"Students who feel that they have an aptitude in computer science, information technology or other engineering degrees could have a great future ahead of them by going down this road," said Ms Una Halligan, public affairs manager at Hewlett-Packard technology campus at Leixlip, Co Kildare.
Ms Halligan said that it was the availability of a highly-skilled workforce that clinched the decision to locate in Ireland in 1995.
The company recently set up the technology campus and expects to create 200 new jobs, mainly for software and computer science graduates. This marked a major shift for Hewlett-Packard from a mainly manufacturing operation to a thoroughgoing technology campus style.
However, Ms Halligan warned: "Our future is dependent on people skills - the human resource."
