Ireland has established itself as a home for technology companies, both indigenous and international, but the recent flurry of lay-offs globally has shaken certainty around that somewhat. However, technology is not Ireland’s only strong suit, given robust advances in pharma, life sciences, engineering and accounting too.
What is driving demand in these areas and what skills are most needed now and into the future?
Last year the tech market was at boiling point, says Claire Kelly, head of growth and partnerships, Sigmar Recruitment.
“It was almost unsustainable,” says Kelly, who sees the slowdown in the sector internationally as “the market almost normalising itself a little”.
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“You’ll see this with multiple industries, not just tech,” she adds. “The US was hit hard and then Ireland was impacted. However, the Irish market is still holding quite steady and there is still a huge demand for candidates.”
In fact, Ireland’s tech landscape is thriving, with its strong presence of multinational companies, growing start-up and scale-up ecosystem, and focus on areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber security, and sustainable technologies, says Mark Jordan, chief strategy officer at Skillnet Ireland.
“We know that talent has become a major driver for global businesses operating in Ireland and most have been proactive by aligning talent needs to commercial objectives,” says Jordan. “This has resulted in a greater level of engagement and consultation with the skills ecosystem to ensure the right talent solutions are being made available.”
At the minute, tech is still on the go, agrees Kelly. “There was a lot of narrative at the start of the year around the ‘tech wreck’, but it’s since settled down,” she says. “It’s not as big an issue as people had believed it would be. Tech in Ireland is still very much thriving. There’s even been an increase in foreign direct investment companies coming into the country.”
While lay-offs in many of the most well-known tech firms dominated the news in 2023, tech workers are not just employed by these firms, they also work in industries throughout the economy, says Jordan.
“Despite headlines about lay-offs in the tech sector, particularly at high-profile companies, overall demand for workers in tech occupations remains high,” he notes. “While notable lay-offs may capture attention, their scale remains relatively small compared to demand across all sectors.”
Technology is not the only sector in Ireland, though, and Kelly stresses that there are opportunities in others such as engineering, accountancy, and life sciences.
“Life science is continuing to thrive – with that including pharma, bio tech, medical-device production and more. In fact, 19 of the top 20 pharma firms in the world have a base in Ireland, which is a real indicator of the measure of talent here,” she says.
Roles that are in high demand include quality control, production managers, clinical research and research and development.
Kelly says quality assurance roles and manufacturing engineers are in high demand across all engineering disciplines – mechanical, electrical, sustainability and environmental.
“Accountancy is another strong growth area,” she says. “It saw a big uplift in 2023 with between 5 per cent and 7.5 per cent salary increases.” That’s likely to settle slightly but accountancy will remain a high-demand area in 2024, Kelly believes.
Advances in technology, changing demographics, shifting consumption patterns and a multitude of competitive and geopolitical forces are constantly changing the work landscape and driving new skills requirements, says Jordan.
“Digital transformation very often lies at the heart of company operations. It’s the catalyst that propels an organisation forward, boosting competitiveness, productivity and profitability,” he says.
With skills shortages and challenges in attracting and retaining talent, the need to have the right people, with the right skills, in the right roles, at the right time is more critical now than ever, in his view.
“In recent years we have seen several major multinational companies establish their Europe, Middle East and Africa headquarters here in Ireland,” says Jordan. “This has resulted in the import of talent from other countries and the expansion of job opportunities for Irish workers – all resulting in a cross-pollination of skills sharing, learnings and career development pathways.
“This approach is viewed very positively across industries as it fosters both inclusion and competitiveness.”
Kelly believes that the “brain drain” of 20 years ago has been halted. “We have a highly skilled workforce and because there are lots of opportunities in the country we are seeing a lot less Irish talent leaving,” she says. “Graduate-level people are still leaving but more experienced talent are staying in Ireland.”
An industry-led approach to the creation and delivery of talent initiatives is of paramount importance to ensure that the skills and talent programmes being brought to market are addressing the current and medium-term needs of business, says Jordan.
“It is critical that all actors – industry, Government and education providers – are aligned to ensure world-class talent programmes are being made available to our businesses and workforce,” he says.
There is a strong and consistent pipeline of talent entering and developing their skills within our workforce who possess a range of technical, critical-thinking and customer-focused capabilities
— Mark Jordan, Skillnet Ireland
Kelly says that while the tech industry is at the forefront of working with institutes and universities to develop courses that will deliver that talent, other sectors are forward planning in similar ways to support changes in how they operate now and in the future.
Ireland places great strategic emphasis on and provides much financial support for readying and developing its workforce by delivering great initiatives through the higher and further education system, says Jordan.
“There is a strong and consistent pipeline of talent entering and developing their skills within our workforce who possess a range of technical, critical-thinking and customer-focused capabilities,” he says.
In Kelly’s view it is important to note that “the Irish market is holding strong, despite news around global markets such as the US”.
“We are holding stable and this is down to the work of the IDA gaining inward investment, as well as the strength of indigenous businesses and established multinationals here,” she adds.