Have you got the talent you need to maintain and grow your business?
Find out more about the effects of the talent gap in our Global White paper. Despite rising unemployment rates, many organisations are still facing the on-going difficulty in finding the skills and talent they need to drive their business forward.
Earlier their year, The Grafton Employment Group surveyed over 1,000 companies across seventeen countries to assess any talent related issues that HR Professionals and local employers were concerned about. The results found that over a 1/4 of Irish companies do not have the talent needed to execute their business strategy and talent shortage is having a significant effect company’s productivity and efficiency as well as leadership and strategy. This talent gap is having a clear knock on effect with 61% of Irish companies, citing it as one of their top three risks in achieving their business strategy, with 56% believing that the talent issues in their organisation has had an adverse effect on the productivity and efficiency with 40% stating that innovation is being adversely affected.
The main sectors that are experiencing the most difficulty in sourcing the talent they need are:
Shared services and Contact centres (59%)
Professional services and Financial services (58%)
Technology (52%)
Cathy McCorry, Managing Director, Ireland at The Grafton Employment Group, commented:
“It is clear that the talent shortage has become more than an organisational challenge; it is now a critical business issue. Shortages in specialist skills are running the risk of slowing down the return to stability and the long term competiveness of the Northern Irish economy.”
To download this report, please click here or alternatively contact info@grafton-group.com for further details.
There was great news for Northern Ireland and Belfast in particular recently as a recent study showed that job vacancies are up 39%!
The study by Simply Hired lead to positive news overall for all of the UK, however, the study drew the conclusion that over the past month, Belfast has become a simmering pot of new roles which is great for us all. A representative from Simply Hired commented “Belfast experienced September’s largest job gains with a 39.4% month-over-month increase in vacancies. Over the past several months Belfast has demonstrated impressive job creation, maintaining job growth percentages in the double digits.”
Daniel Grant, Digital and Online Recruitment Specialist at BluePrint Appointments commented “These latest figures are a real boost for all concerned as they show a renewed confidence in the market by employers and candidates actively searching for work and those who are in current employment to seek their next position. Across BluePrint Appointments in Northern Ireland, available positions are up on average 12% on the previous six months. In particular, those sectors charting pronounced increases in available jobs include; IT, Digital and Online Marketing roles, Pharmaceutical and Engineering, which shows that the jobs market is beginning to recover from a very tough few years.”
As the Northern Irish economy beginning to prepare for the upturn, these latest figures shows that employers that cut staffing levels are taking a close look at the core skills needed in new hires in order to rebuild operational effectiveness. It is a good time to be in Northern Ireland, as our economy begins to attract organisations – the latest announcement that Mediasmiths are opening a new office called creating 15 new jobs within Belfast.
IDA, Chief Executive, Barry O’Leary reported "IDA is absolutely thrilled that Twitter has decided to establish an international office in Ireland. Twitter is a fantastic addition to Ireland's dynamic digital media cluster and we are excited to support the company's continued international growth."
Dublin is the third location where Twitter has opened outside the US, with the other offices in London and Tokyo. It was widely reported that Dublin was competing with London and Berlin for consideration for Twitter’s European HQ.
Aidan McKee, Head of BluePrint Appointments commented. “This is a real boost for all concerned. It is no surprise that Twitter have decided to establish a presence here in Ireland. We have a high calibre of skilled professionals who possess an in demand skill set and Twitter will certainly have a real appeal to attract our home grown talent. At BluePrint, we hope that many other International Digital and Online companies follow suit and look to establish a presence here in Ireland also.”
The micro-blogging site currently employs approximately 650 staff globally, according to its headquarters in San Francisco. Although no information has been provided on possible job numbers, it is hoped that Twitter’s Irish operations would follow the lead of its American counterparts, Google and Facebook, by starting small and expanding rapidly. Google now employs more than 2,000 employees while Facebook has more than 200 in Dublin staff. It is understood the initial roles at Twitter will be in finance, marketing and user support.
Richard Bruton, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation called the Twitter announcement a "massive win" that showed there was "real ground for Ireland's claim to be the Internet capital of Europe". "It also shows that, despite our difficulties, we still have real strengths as an economy.The challenge now is to build on our strengths and the presence in Ireland of the world-leading companies like Twitter to build an indigenous engine of growth and get people back to work." The announcement "shows that we have real grounds for optimism in facing that challenge", he added.
With the recent release of the Leaving Certificate results Aidan McKee, Head of Operations at Blueprint Appointments, believes that in spite of the anticipated increased points required for most Science, Computing and Technology courses this year, there are options that secondary school leavers can consider that will give them a head start on their chosen career path.
“Students need to understand that whilst educational profile is very important, 9 times out of 10 employers will hire the applicants with experience and technical skill. Therefore my advice would always be, for students to secure work experience, internships or industrial placement with a credible brand/organization as early as possible be it directly after their leaving certificate or in conjunction with undertaking their third level education. Gaining work experience in a post related to their future vocation has never been more important.
Whilst the increase in application numbers amongst secondary school leavers interested in IT and Science at third level is a positive move in addressing the Talent Gap that exists in these sectors, there still remains a very significant concern; that having completed their third level studies, too many graduates are not equipped to offer any practical skills in order to hit the ground running when they enter the commercial world. Furthermore, course content, especially in the IT sector, can often be dated before these students even graduate. The variance between educational/theoretical knowledge accumulated in third level and practical on the ground knowledge is far too vast.
If you fear you will not be accepted in to the course of your choice, now is the time to explore interim options that allow you to build your practical and tech skills. Explore roles at an entry level that may allow professional development opportunities which will help you gain qualifications while working in your chosen field. Consider options what are recognized as the entry level fields – trainee developers – grads only though. 1st and 2nd line technical support – depending on the organization applicants at secondary level could be considered.
If reconsidering new courses, whether within the CAO system or with private colleges, consider courses that will not only compliment your chosen subjects to date, but choose an area that you are passionate about, committed to and that will develop your job readiness in preparation for securing paid employment in the sector.
Consider other areas where skill shortages exist. For example there is a massive demand for multi lingual technical support specialists in the current climate. If we had applicants offering a second language, with no tech or IT skills, many high profile organizations would offering on the job training and professional certification to combat this issue.”
Grafton Employment Group are sponsoring Business in the Community's annual Workplace Conference, Engage to Innovate. It takes place at W5 in Belfast on October 13 and will be exploring how employee engagement is a route to business success. Joe Ffrench, HR Director for Microsoft Ireland will be headlining this year’s event and will be revealing how this industry giant succeeds because of its people.
Cathy McCorry, Managing Director of the Grafton Employment Group, explained "Grafton is delighted to have the opportunity to be involved in this year’s event, our continued sponsorship of the Business in the Community’s Annual Workplace Conference, has been driven by the shared values of both organisations; empowering people and organisations to be more competitive. I would urge businesses to attend this event as it will help employers attract talent people and thoroughly engage their workforce which is vital considering that 80% of Ireland 2020 workforce are currently in employment."
Launching the 2011 Workplace Conference, Engage to Innovate, are Cathy McCorry, Grafton Employment Group; Tanya Kennedy, Business in the Community and John Brolly, The Irish News.
