Careers and Jobs

Two positive news stories to tell you about – cherish them as they are few and far between at the minute. It looks like we are spreading the love too as jobs are created both sides of the border.

Complete Telecom announced that it will be growing by 10 staff as part of an ongoing expansion. The jobs will be created at their HQ in Dublin with a few scattered regionally. Most of the roles are in Engineering and Support. Get your CV’s dusted down as recruitment is happening as you read this post. Complete hope to have the new positions filled by September.

Citigroup announce that they will be creating 145 new jobs in Northern Ireland. This is great news and financial services and insurance sectors have been taking a bit of a hammering with the Axa Insurance news and Hibernian news. The Citigroup announcement will bring the number of staff to 850 in the North. Lets hope that this is not a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul and that this move is not part of a strategy to access cheaper costs in the North.

We are a run of good stories now with these last two announcements. Let’s hope it continues. Need help with CV Writing Service or Interview Coaching?

Great news for Cork and Munster today with the announcement of an IDA backed investment by Pfizer. Read more about this jobs news.

A new career site Careersportal has been launched aimed at 2nd and 3rd level students. Much needed if you ask me!! The site will provide information on a variety of careers across industry sectors. Apart from supporting students the site will support parents and teachers and guidance counselors keeping all up to date. This is a problem sometimes with career advice from an educational source – there can be a lack of up to date knowledge about the job market, trends etc.

Careersportal will give students as much information as possible to help them make an informed decision on career direction. It will include tools like Career Exploration to help find a suitable career, employment sector or educational course. It will also profile 30 sectors in Ireland and up to 500 occupation profiles. Companies in Ireland also get an opportunity to profile themselves.

Hopefully initiative like this will reduce the large number of graduates pursuing the wrong qualifications and careers. If you are a student you should definitely check out the site. If you are currently working this site could still prove to be a valuable resource.

Australia Jobs News

Looks like if you are want a job Australia is the place to go. Not to mention the better lifestyle and weather. A recent Survey by Michael Page indicated that 93% of Australian companies predicted staff numbers would increase. Demand for professionals will intensify and wages will increase over the next 12 months. It seems that there are opportunities in most sectors. Australia’s unemployment rate runs at 4.3% or 473,800 people.

China Jobs News

It looks like it is no longer a “job for life” in China. A recent report indicated that 20% of Chinese workers intended to change jobs this year. Booming economy so I guess there are plenty of opportunities.

Scottish Jobs News

It looks like Ireland is not the only slowing economy. A recent survey indicated a slowing in demand for workers and easing of pay pressure.

UK Jobs News

If you want flexibility in working arrangement it seems working in the UK is the answer. A recent report indicated that 95% of UK firms offered flexible working arrangements. I would say we are way behind that in Ireland and stuck in the 9-5 era. Interestingly the number of firms offering childcare support has doubled in the last 4 years. This is a great way to get the new employees of the future used to the surroundings.

As many multinationals head for the exit door in Ireland future employment will rely more on Irish SME’s. It is interesting that most graduates rush to join an IBM or an Intel and often ignore potential opportunities with SME’s. Is this because they don’t want to join a smaller organisation OR that they do not know they exist. Well – here are 6 small companies that achieved awards at the recent SFA Awards. Think of the perks you would get at Aran Candy – they make Jelly Beans!!

The full list of winners in SFA Awards 2008:

INNOVATOR: (up to 50 employees): Easy Fix Rubber Products
MANUFACTURING: Ecocem Ireland
FOOD & DRINK: Aran Candy
SERVICES: Home Instead Senior Care
OUTSTANDING SMALL BUSINESS: Atomic Sports
BEST IN HR DEVELOPMENT AWARD: CCP Recruitment

There was some great news for the Pharmaceutical sector and the cork region today in Ireland. Cork as a region houses a very strong pharmaceutical sector with many employees BUT this will now increase.

Depuy Ireland announced that it will be setting up a new innovation centre in Cork. This center will create 20 new jobs. These jobs will be for individuals with bioengineering, materials and quality backgrounds.

Depuy Ireland currently employs about 600 staff in Cork and set up in Ireland in 1997. It currently has manufacturing and supply chain functions in the region.

These jobs are positive news for the government as they fit the “high value” jobs specification that they have been promising. The only thing is that they are not being created fast enough.

There was also great news for Dublin today where Chase Paymentech announced 100 new jobs over the next 3 years.

Please see a list of counties with stands at the recent FAS show at Croke Park. If you are out of work or just fancy a change worth investigating these locations.

One country not on the list is Australia – Sound good to me!!

I had an interesting conversation with a jobseeker this evening (yes I take work calls on a Saturday). Anyway this person was quite worried about the economy and job security. They said they would love a job with the Council or the Civil Service.

I am sure that many employees in Ireland are having similar thoughts.

There have been many redundancies in Ireland and some sectors are a bit dodgy at the minute. The question remains should you hunt out a safe number or follow a path you will offer fulfillment.

It is different horses for different courses. Personally those environments would not suit me but they will suit others.

I told this caller where to find other possiilites in the public setor and related so I guess I will post the list just in case anyone else is interested.

If you have any views on the above dilemma please post.

p.s – there are educational institutions on the list – not too sure if the would be classed public sector but they would be related.

The IFSC employs thousands of professionals and you can work there too. The Banking & Finance sector is still buoyant in Ireland and you can get a piece of the action.

There are many opportunities in Funds, Banking, Treasury and below we have outlined where you can find Custody and Trustee jobs. We have listed recruitment agencies who recruit for the sector on this site. We have also listed the job boards that advertise the jobs. If you want to approach these companies directly see the list below.

If you are interested in the Banking & Finance sector in Ireland – Citco recently announced new jobs in Cork

This site will also give you valuable career tips and advice for job hunting in Ireland.

Do you want to work in Treasury in Ireland. The IFSC houses some of the biggest financial companies in the world. I have listed some of the companies to approach if you want a job in Treasury.

Direct applications or speculative approaches to companies is something of a lost profession. Most jobseekers will register with a recruitment agency or view job boards online.

If you are struggling to find a job and want to work in the IFSC why not approach these companies directly. Need help with this then check out this blog.