Sector Outline
The IT sector in Ireland is experiencing intense and high-scale growth in recent years. According to Enterprise Ireland, Ireland ranks 2nd in the world as an exporter of computer and IT services, with €50 billion of exports per annum. Intel, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon, PayPal, eBay and Twitter have established operations in Ireland, with Dublin also being Europe’s leading hub of innovative games companies. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicates that computer services account for 40% of the value of Irish services exports in 2012, (€90.2bn).
Our primary clients in the area of IT recruitment at Amicus can be divided into three major groups:
- High-growth start-ups with up to 50 employees, currently in the process of growing their Dublin office headcounts – their recruitment needs revolve around PHP, Ruby, JavaScript, Android and iOS developers and systems and network engineers;
- Established professional services firms (Big Four and others), looking to recruit IT Consultants, Business Analysts, Data Analysts and Forensic Specialists;
- Non-tech companies with a need for Systems, Database and Unix/Linux Administrators.
One of the major challenges in recruiting IT skilled professionals is their relative shortage on the Irish market, which calls for using innovative and out-of-the-box methods to find and attract candidates. Amicus has a growing presence on various social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), professional platforms (GitHub) and groups (for example, for Ruby on Rails developers), as well as employing direct approach, headhunting and a strong referral system to ensure access to high-skilled professionals.
Expectations for 2015
Dublin is continuing to establish itself as the tech capital of Europe and this trend is reflected, among others, in the number of high-growth start-ups which are recruiting in the areas of Software Development, Telecoms, Internet, Digital & Social Media. A recent announcement made by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD highlighted the creation of 400 new jobs from 8 North American and European based high-growth companies, with investments supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.
The announcement coincided with Dublin’s Web Summit (Nov 4th-6th 2014), which has been hailed as the ‘best technology conference on the planet’ and one that has grown from 500 visitors in 2010 to 22.000 in 2014, further strengthening Dublin’s position as the tech hub of Europe.
Additionally, Enterprise Ireland has developed a €10 million fund for international start-ups which offers equity funding to leading edge teams to locate their start-up business in Ireland.
All of these developments point to further growth in the sector. Salaries will likely continue rising, as companies compete for professionals with the desired skill-sets. Relocation of employees from other countries will potentially become a viable option, always when technical ability goes together with good communication skills and advanced English.
Finally, companies looking for permanent employees might need to offer additional benefits in order to be able to compete with highly paid contract roles, particularly in the case of SAP, VMWare and Oracle eBusiness consultants, as well as Ruby, Python and PHP developers. JavaScript developers will likely be amongst the most sought after candidates for 2014 and competition amongst employers will be high.
What’s going on in IT, by Ewa Zajac | ewa@amicus.ie
Dec 2014