Free flights offer for emigrants extended to Canada, US and New Zealand

Irish emigrants in the US, Canada and New Zealand will be offered free flights home if they move back to fill jobs in Ireland, following a similar recruitment campaign in Australia.

FRS Recruitment is looking to fill vacancies across a range of sectors, with a particularly high demand for qualified workers in construction, IT, healthcare, pharmaceutical and medical device, and finance.

The agency's general manager Colin Donnery said an increasing number of Irish emigrants were now considering returning to Ireland to live and work, and "we are looking to tap into that interest".

The number of Irish people returning to live in Ireland from abroad overtook those emigrating for the first time in nine years this year, according to the Central Statistics Office. In the 12 months to April 2018, 28,400 Irish nationals moved home, while 28,300 emigrated.

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FRS held a recruitment roadshow in Australia earlier this month, meeting almost 1,000 candidates interested in moving home for work. They have since received 350 applications for specific roles.

Following inquiries from Irish people living in other countries, the agency has extended the free flights offer to the US, Canada and New Zealand, which have also been popular destinations for Irish emigrant workers over the past decade.

FRS general manager Colin Donnery said the overseas recruitment initiative was developed because they were struggling to fill many of the job vacancies on their books in Ireland.

“There are so many high quality positions available at the moment in Ireland and we hope this initiative shows we are willing to search every corner of the globe to find the right personnel for these roles.”

He said the agency would talk potential candidates through the range of positions available, salaries, the logistics of making the move home, and the free flights offer.

FRS have 150 doctors’ vacancies across the Irish health service to be filled by January, more than 100 nurses and allied health professionals’ roles, 120 construction-related positions, and an unquantifiable number of jobs in IT. The vacancies are in every county.

The agency will reimburse the cost of flights for all successful candidates after six months of continuous employment. The placed candidate must commence employment with FRS Recruitment’s client within three months of returning to Ireland.

This is in addition to the “strong, attractive packages” which will be on offer for potential returning emigrants, according to FRS. In some cases, relocation packages will also be offered, depending on the employer.

A recruitment roadshow is planned for New York, Boston and Chicago early in 2019, with events in Canada, New Zealand and the UK to follow later in the year.