Opportunities in Canada, Australia and Ireland on offer at Jobs Expo

HARD CHOICES were again being faced at a jobs expo in the RDS at the weekend.

While the event was not as large or as heavily attended as previous jobs expos in Dublin and Cork, applicants again travelled hundreds of kilometres, CVs in hand in hope of a suitable vacancy.

Simon Barker an air conditioning worker from Co Meath said he was talking to recruitment company Quality Global Personnel about opportunities in Canada. While he hadn’t heard of specific openings in air conditioning, he was advised of “pick and shovel” mine work in Canada where you could work for about six weeks and spend the next two at home in Ireland. The industry paid about €1,000 a week plus flights and accommodation. Mr Barker said while it was not air conditioning it might suit as the money was good and he would not have to uproot his partner and their two children for something that might not work out. “It is something” he said, adding that he had not worked in two years since the collapse in the construction industry.

Inside the exhibition hall Canadian Patrick Walker of recruitment company JV Driver which serves the oil and gas industry said some 50 people had been signed up over the weekend. “That is good. The way things are in Canada we would have considered getting 10 people a success. He said the company was looking for skilled trades people and others to work on pipelines. Elsewhere Australian company Tom Browne Drilling was looking for operatives to fill 40 positions.

But Donal Kavanagh of organisers Learning Ireland was keen to point out that not all jobs on offer were based abroad. He introduced The Irish Times to IFDS Percana which is looking for 30 software developers based here in Ireland and Irish Home Care services where founder Sally Murtagh explained some 200 part time care assistants were needed to fill a recently acquired HSE contract. It was not medial work, but staff work with families to maintain patients in their homes, she said.

Also looking to recruit for the home market were Aldi Ireland who were seeking store managers; Cork company GxP Systems which currently has 21 job openings, for engineering positions and Dell Ireland which was said to be seeking staff “at all levels”.

As he left Stephen O’Neill of Coolock in Dublin said he thought there would be more jobs on offer. He had found a number of seminars and stands providing information on CV and visa preparation. “Fás said to come but I thought there would be more jobs” he said.

Anthony Murtagh of Dundalk said he was a tool maker and wouldn’t have minded going to Australia or Canada. “But there is not much for tool makers”, I thought it was going to be bigger” he said. His friend Brian Rice said he was a graphic designer, and it had been “good to talk to somebody about visas”.