The Dell Computer Corporation is the world's largest direct marketer of computer systems and is the third largest producer of PCs in the world. The company has two production facilities in Austin, Texas, where it is headquartered, and factories in Ireland and Malaysia.
Some 2,000 staff work at the Limerick facility where currently there are a total of 16 production lines assembling desktop and portable computers and notebooks, according to training manager Lloyd White.
The Irish factory supplies the European market. Orders are lodged with some 15 local sales sites around Europe, but the goods are shipped directly to customers from Limerick.
Mechanical, software and processing engineers and technicians are the mainstay of the business, according to Dell's human resources manager, Barry Healy. Degrees in general business are also useful, he says. "With a general business degree people can work in a range of areas including customer services, traffic and the support areas."
Ideally operators come in with Leaving Cert, but the company remains flexible on this. "If they don't have Leaving Cert they usually come in when they are in their late twenties and they have good product knowledge or assembly skills. We interview all applicants. We're looking for people who are flexible and who will grow with the company."
