The most recent SOLAS Skills and Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU) survey of Recruitment Agencies reveals an increase in the number of difficult to fill jobs in Ireland. A significant majority of all difficult to fill mentions were professional occupations (IT professionals, engineers, accountants, etc.), however, an increasing number of non-professional roles were mentioned as difficult to fill. The most difficult to fill include:
- Managers: project managers; quality manager; HR managers; business development; hotel and restaurant managers.
- Sales and marketing managers: product strategy, retail managers; sales managers with industry specific knowledge including procurement and supply chain management.
- Business intelligence & data analytics: experienced statisticians; entry level and experienced revenue managers (specific sectors, e.g. hospitality); financial systems analysts; economists and data scientists (big data, data visualisations and quantitative modelling)
- Project management and production planning.
- Technical Managers in science, technology and engineering, and in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) environment.
- IT Professionals, Senior ICT managers, including IT project/network managers; Oracle supply chain functional lead management roles.
- Cloud computing: MS Azure; AWS (amazon web services); cloud architect. InfoSec (IT security): IoT (internet of things); BYOD (bring your own device); data/information security; IT internal audit. Web design: particularly web related applications focusing on enhancing users’ online experience (UX) and supporting user interaction (UI).
- Senior HR managers with industry relevant expertise.
- Financial managers.
The survey also calculated the number of workers from non-EEA countries who filled vacancies in Ireland, with approximately 180 new permits issued for managerial occupations accounting for 6% of all employment permits issued. “Almost half of permits issued to managers were for intra-company transfers (accounting for almost a fifth of all intra-company transfer permits issued in 2013) in sectors including manufacturing, financial services and IT; a further 41% of new permits issued were for green cards, primarily in services and IT.”