Skill shortages creating problems for employers

Who would have thought, given Ireland's long history of emigration, that we would see out the 20th century with more jobs than people to fill them? But such is the demand for skilled workers in Ireland's booming economy that employers and recruiters are looking as far afield as Australia and India for suitably qualified staff.

Where job advertisements once attracted scores of candidates, employers are now lucky to get half a dozen responses for some positions. Recruitment agencies are snowed under with requests from desperate employers and every shop, restaurant and bar now seems to have a help wanted sign in the window.

For students considering their future career paths, the opportunities are immense. But while a tightening labour market is good news for job seekers, skills shortages are a major problem for employers.

"It's quite bad," admits Aileen O'Donoghue, assistant director, social policy, with the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC). "It's a combination of skills and labour shortages. Do people have the right skills and are they available?" Demand is particularly acute in the information technology sector. A study by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, published last year, predicted that an additional 2,200 engineering and computer science technologists would be needed each year to fill available and anticipated jobs. That is in addition to the 6,100 technicians and professionals that enter the market each year.

Shortages are also apparent in new sectors such as the multilingual call centre market and the shared services sector.

Companies in both sectors were attracted to Ireland by the availability of a young, educated workforce, as well as by tax incentives and grants. But a lack of people with relevant skills who are willing to work for relatively modest wages, has been a problem.

"All areas are competitive, but particularly higher skills areas such as IT and engineering," says Adrian McGennis, managing director of The Marlborough Group, a leading recruitment agency.

Given the competitive nature of the marketplace, employers have been forced to alter their hiring practices. Many of the new jobs in call centres and financial services were initially aimed at graduates. But the low-level administrative nature of the work quickly led to high levels of staff turnover.

As a result, companies have begun targeting school leavers and those with post-Leaving Certificate qualifications rather than degrees. One call centre, which could not find sufficient diploma-level staff, hired school leavers and experienced lower attrition and no drop in work quality, Mr McGennis says.

Hewlett Packard, which employs 1,500 people in Ireland, is seeking 500 recruits this year, mostly manufacturing technicians and production operators. In future, however, demand will be stronger for computer science graduates and software developers, says a company spokesperson, Una Halligan.

In a bid to tackle the problem, the Minister for Education earlier this year announced a £75 million investment plan which would create 5,400 new third-level places in engineering and computer hardware and software. The places will be added over the next four years, mostly in existing courses.

Two-year courses in teleservices have already been introduced in post-Leaving Certificate colleges around the country, aimed at providing a pool of staff for the growing telemarketing and call centre industries. Financial services courses are being developed in association with industry bodies for the new shared services centres which are opening up. And the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs has begun examining the life sciences sector and the general labour market, both areas where shortages exist.

While much of the attention has focused on entry-level skills needs, scarcities exist at all skills levels. Several initiatives are underway. FS and Enterprise Ireland, for instance, are trying to entice Irish emigrants with appropriate skills to return home, while the recently-established Skillsnet Training Networks Programme is looking at collaborative approaches companies can take to meet their training needs.

"Employers have to think about new ways of human-resourcing the economy," says IBEC's Aileen O'Donoghue. "That's a challenging thing for management to do. We had a buyers' market before. We never had to think about skills shortages. There was always a supply of good people. Now we do." In addition to re-training existing workers, employers will need to attract new workers to the labour market, Aileen O'Donoghue says. These could include early retirees, immigrants, the disabled, women who stayed at home to raise children and who now want to return to work, and older women.

Students, meanwhile, are spoiled for choice in terms of career options. But early preparation and careful attention to subject choice at second level is essential.

"At an early stage, begin to think of your career and what youre interested in," recommends Lorcan O'Raghallaigh, manager, skills and policy development with Forfs, the policy advisory board for industrial development and science and technology.

"If you like playing computer games and messing on the Internet, maybe the software route is one to go for. If you like talking on the phone, maybe a job in telesales would suit. On the other hand, if you like taking things apart, maybe a career as a technician might be of interest."

A computer science or engineering degree will not suit everyone. But, says Adrian McGennis, "even a leaning towards IT, especially e-commerce, or towards engineering or languages would be very marketable." Even sales people and managers will need to be versed in IT, he points out.

Sandra Burke is a freelance journalist