Investors in Poland tap into Republic's expertise

Polish companies are keen to attract Irish and Poles who have gained skills here, writes Gabrielle Monaghan

International investors in Poland are tapping Ireland-based experts in property, banking and IT in a bid to mimic our economic success and develop these sectors in the east European state, according to the new Warsaw unit of Dublin recruitment firm Sigmar.

Irish companies setting up operations in real estate asset management, fund management and other sectors in Poland are approaching Sigmar in search of Irish executives and Poles with experience in the Irish market to work in their new businesses, says Mark Twomey, a veteran recruitment consultant who manages Sigmar's Polish unit.

Poles who return from Ireland with the knowledge and skills garnered by working in a more developed market are particularly attractive to indigenous companies, so much so that new investors in Poland are willing to send local employees to Ireland for a period of time to learn the ropes, the manager said.

Private and institutional Irish investors spent €1.1 billion in Poland last year, making Ireland the 14th largest investor in the country, according to Mr Twomey. The biggest Irish investors in the country are Allied Irish Banks (AIB), which owns Bank Zachodni WBK, and building materials group CRH.

There are about 40 Irish companies operating in the country, including Grafton, Greencore, and Kingspan, with a similar number of Polish companies registered in Ireland.

Ireland's largest housebuilding firm, Menolly, paid €30 million for land in Warsaw and formally launched its global division there earlier this month. It plans to build at least 800 apartments, a 160-bedroom hotel, offices, retail space and parking on the land.

"All of the top guys in these companies are Irish, many of whom commute between Poland and Ireland," Mr Twomey said.

"But they are grooming people to succeed them. They know that Polish people come back home from Ireland in dribs and drabs and they say that, if you have anyone on your books who worked in Ireland before, I'll bite your hand off!"

Poland has become the world's fifth most attractive country for companies to invest in, Mr Twomey says, citing a recent survey of business executives by Ernst & Young. Polish exports to Ireland alone rose almost fivefold last year, compared to an increase of just 18 per cent for Irish exports to Poland.

In January, Sigmar opened its first Polish office in Warsaw, where it employs 10 people, and is considering opening more agencies in the country. Sigmar recruitment consultant Ewa Slawinska was a speaker at Poland's annual real estate asset management conference last month.

"In a rapidly expanding sector that demands highly specialist skills, employers need to be able to hire quickly and effectively," said Ms Slawinska, from Sigmar Poland's construction and property department.

"Knowing where to locate the right staff and find the right level of quality is important to the success of any fund management team. In a new and evolving market, it becomes even more vital to get it right first time and quickly."

Demand for asset managers is rising in Poland as more international and domestic companies enter the market. AIB alone has 10 large properties worth about €200 million in Poland, according to Mr Twomey.

"We work with some Irish property development companies here, and they want to get Polish people working in Ireland and attract them back because they know the standards and codes in Ireland," the manager said.

The exodus of hundreds of thousands of Poles to other European Union countries following expansion of the bloc in 2004 has created a skills shortage in some sectors in their home country, Mr Twomey says. About 200,000 Poles now live in Ireland, many of whom are young, highly educated, and fluent English speakers.

"Using the property and construction sector in Ireland as an example, many of the project managers and site engineers are Polish and are in demand here," the manager said.

Sigmar Poland liaises regularly with its Dublin office, which has 120 recruitment consultants, in an effort to fill vacancies with well qualified Poles working in Ireland. Many of the Poles who apply to Sigmar's head office on a daily basis are merely looking to switch jobs in Ireland and are then tempted to return home with the lure of higher salaries.

"I call them and ask if they are interested in coming back home and there's an Irish company here in Poland that could use their skills," Mr Twomey said.

"A lot of them only wanted to go away in the first place for one or two years to gain international experience. They know when they come back to Poland they will be more valuable commodities."