The latest volume of the National Skills Bulletin was released last week. It is produced by the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU) in SOLAS and anybody who is currently at a career crossroad should read it. Pages 72 to 83 are particularly interesting, as this section lists the work sectors with skills shortages.
Skill Snapshot
• Engineering: while it is clearly stated there is no shortage of civil engineers, there is, however, a shortage of electrical and electronical engineers, production, process, design and development and quality control engineers.• Healthcare: there is a shortage of medical practitioners (it’s interesting to note that 15% of medical practitioners are non-Irish nationals) and of nurses and midwives. However, it is clearly stated there is no shortage of pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other therapy professionals. • Teaching: there is no shortage of secondary, primary or nursery teachers. It’s interesting to note that 90.3% of primary and nursery teachers and 66.6% of secondary teachers in Ireland today are female. • Legal world: there is no shortage of barristers, judges, solicitors and related professionals. • Navigation: there is also no shortage of aircraft pilots, ship officers and air traffic controllers. Bear in mind that this is the current situation and things could change between now and the time you complete a qualification in any of these areas.
Permits
It’s possible to pick out areas where employers are having difficulty in finding suitably qualified candidates from the Irish and EU labour market, by looking at the occupations for which employment permits have been issued.
This is because all non-EEA nationals who want to work in Ireland are required to attain an employment permit. To get this, an individual must have a valid job offer from a prospective Irish employer who has proved that there were no Irish or EEA nationals available to fill the post.
Some of the roles permits were most frequently issued for were chefs, electrical and electronic trades, such as field service engineers, telecoms test engineers, and for butchers, boners and slaughter house operatives.
Irish Country Living reported on these pages recently about the job opportunities in the meat-processing sector and the National Skills Bulletin states there is a labour shortage in the butcher, fishmonger and related trades sector. In fact, approximately 30% of those employed in this area are non-Irish nationals.
The report also states that the retention of qualified butchers post-training has been identified as an issue and that “the problem with attracting and retaining skilled butchers/de-boners remains a challenge for the meat industry in Ireland, with the issue likely to be exacerbated by the greater availability of job opportunities across other sectors as the economy continues to recover”.
Construction
Employment expanded faster in construction than in any other sector of the economy in 2014 (albeit from a low base).
According to the National Skills Bulletin report, the initial growth has been concentrated in commercial construction and is largely due to expansion in other sectors, such as biopharma/medical, utilities and ICT. Further growth in commercial construction and residential construction is also expected.
However, as of May this year there is still an oversupply of construction skills in the Irish labour market to the tune of 2,000 bricklayers, 1,500 plumbers, 4,000 carpenters, 2,000 plasterers and 2,700 painter/decorators. It’s interesting to note that 27.2% of bricklayers and 22.2% of plasterers in Ireland work part-time.
Trades
In 2014, there were approximately 113,000 persons employed in other craft occupations, representing 5.9% of the national workforce. Three-quarters of employment was concentrated across three trades: electrical and electronic (30%), metal machining, fitting and instrument-making (24%) and vehicle (almost 20%).
The demand for electricians was evident in an increased number of vacancies in 2014. However, many vacancies were arising due to replacement demand turnover and there was still a large number of jobseekers in the sector. However, demand for electricians is expected to increase.
In 2014, there were many vacancies for welders with TIG/MIG, arc, pipe, orbital and butt fusion skills. Many of these vacancies again arose due to turnover, but, nevertheless, the demand for welding skills is expected to remain strong and be driven by the projected strong performance that has been forecast for high-tech manufacturing, utilities and construction.
Also, due largely to the strong performance of the high-tech manufacturing sector, the demand for tool-making skills has also been increasing and shortages of tradespersons with expertise in making very complex precision tools are expected in the very near future.
A new course was introduced by the Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board in 2014, with 16 enrolments to meet the demand in this area and this was in addition to the 20 awards made through FET courses in 2014 and an increase in apprentice intake.
The latest volume of the National Skills Bulletin was released last week. It is produced by the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU) in SOLAS and anybody who is currently at a career crossroad should read it. Pages 72 to 83 are particularly interesting, as this section lists the work sectors with skills shortages.
Skill Snapshot
• Engineering: while it is clearly stated there is no shortage of civil engineers, there is, however, a shortage of electrical and electronical engineers, production, process, design and development and quality control engineers.• Healthcare: there is a shortage of medical practitioners (it’s interesting to note that 15% of medical practitioners are non-Irish nationals) and of nurses and midwives. However, it is clearly stated there is no shortage of pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other therapy professionals. • Teaching: there is no shortage of secondary, primary or nursery teachers. It’s interesting to note that 90.3% of primary and nursery teachers and 66.6% of secondary teachers in Ireland today are female. • Legal world: there is no shortage of barristers, judges, solicitors and related professionals. • Navigation: there is also no shortage of aircraft pilots, ship officers and air traffic controllers. Bear in mind that this is the current situation and things could change between now and the time you complete a qualification in any of these areas.
Permits
It’s possible to pick out areas where employers are having difficulty in finding suitably qualified candidates from the Irish and EU labour market, by looking at the occupations for which employment permits have been issued.
This is because all non-EEA nationals who want to work in Ireland are required to attain an employment permit. To get this, an individual must have a valid job offer from a prospective Irish employer who has proved that there were no Irish or EEA nationals available to fill the post.
Some of the roles permits were most frequently issued for were chefs, electrical and electronic trades, such as field service engineers, telecoms test engineers, and for butchers, boners and slaughter house operatives.
Irish Country Living reported on these pages recently about the job opportunities in the meat-processing sector and the National Skills Bulletin states there is a labour shortage in the butcher, fishmonger and related trades sector. In fact, approximately 30% of those employed in this area are non-Irish nationals.
The report also states that the retention of qualified butchers post-training has been identified as an issue and that “the problem with attracting and retaining skilled butchers/de-boners remains a challenge for the meat industry in Ireland, with the issue likely to be exacerbated by the greater availability of job opportunities across other sectors as the economy continues to recover”.
Construction
Employment expanded faster in construction than in any other sector of the economy in 2014 (albeit from a low base).
According to the National Skills Bulletin report, the initial growth has been concentrated in commercial construction and is largely due to expansion in other sectors, such as biopharma/medical, utilities and ICT. Further growth in commercial construction and residential construction is also expected.
However, as of May this year there is still an oversupply of construction skills in the Irish labour market to the tune of 2,000 bricklayers, 1,500 plumbers, 4,000 carpenters, 2,000 plasterers and 2,700 painter/decorators. It’s interesting to note that 27.2% of bricklayers and 22.2% of plasterers in Ireland work part-time.
Trades
In 2014, there were approximately 113,000 persons employed in other craft occupations, representing 5.9% of the national workforce. Three-quarters of employment was concentrated across three trades: electrical and electronic (30%), metal machining, fitting and instrument-making (24%) and vehicle (almost 20%).
The demand for electricians was evident in an increased number of vacancies in 2014. However, many vacancies were arising due to replacement demand turnover and there was still a large number of jobseekers in the sector. However, demand for electricians is expected to increase.
In 2014, there were many vacancies for welders with TIG/MIG, arc, pipe, orbital and butt fusion skills. Many of these vacancies again arose due to turnover, but, nevertheless, the demand for welding skills is expected to remain strong and be driven by the projected strong performance that has been forecast for high-tech manufacturing, utilities and construction.
Also, due largely to the strong performance of the high-tech manufacturing sector, the demand for tool-making skills has also been increasing and shortages of tradespersons with expertise in making very complex precision tools are expected in the very near future.
A new course was introduced by the Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board in 2014, with 16 enrolments to meet the demand in this area and this was in addition to the 20 awards made through FET courses in 2014 and an increase in apprentice intake.
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