Where's all the unemployed Irish people?

desaparecidos

We've had around 9 software development positions available for a month or more in my company and we are finding it very hard to get applicants, never mind have the luxury of picking the decent ones for interviews.

Out of the CVs that were sent in, only 1 or 2 were Irish.

In the end we had to send some of the job specs to UK recruitment firms to try and get some people from over there.

So where are all of the unemployed Irish? Too busy living it up on the dole to care about working for a living?

feylya

There's still a huge amount of work in IT in this country, especially if you're Dublin based. There's no shortage of jobs but there is a shortage of good IT folk to fill them.

desaparecidos

feylya wrote: »

... but there is a shortage of good IT folk to fill them.

That's for sure. I doubt any of my graduation class of a couple of years ago have found any employment in IT. They were all absolutely useless and most only got their degrees because the lecturers were doing their best to produce a pretty grades bell curve.

No doubt all other colleges in the country have been churning out the same dross quality of graduate for the last decade or so.

Seomra Mushie

desaparecidos wrote: »

So where are all of the unemployed Irish? Too busy living it up on the dole to care about working for a living?

You ARE joking, right?

later12

What a ridiculous question. IT is booming right now and it is likely that most people with the relevant skills are in employment within the IT industries.

However, you may have noticed that in the past 12 years, there was a heavy emphasis on non IT based courses, in the services sector and in construction. That's because services and construction is where the most accessibly lucrative employment was. You can't expect young people setting out in their careers to ignore that.

If you're seriously suggesting that there are a lot of people out there with specialised qualifications or experience in software development, who are passing up a career with a proper income for the dole, then I think you may have a credibility issue.

Fran79

Just out of interest where are you advertising these positions?

whitesands

What do you need to get them jobs OP? It's over 10 years since I worked in IT but I'm messing about with Java & due to start a 10 week part time course in Java programming which I expect to pass with distinction.

Would that get me in the door??? I've no college degree or anythng like that but know my stuff. I'll be back in the IT market looking for a job in about 3 months so that's why I'm asking.

Cheers...

Finneen

Education system is too dumbed down these days to produce good IT people outside of computer science/engineering.

MysticalRain

Maybe the HR people at your company botched the job advert, or the salary they're offering is not competitive?

gerryo777

Seomra Mushie wrote: »

You ARE joking, right?

You can see why this guy has problems finding staff, judging by his attitude towards people.
His last statement says a lot.

LimeFruitGum

My department has five positions open where you had to be a native speaker of English. (don't want to give too many details here in case it 'outs' me , but essentially boils down to industry best practice and direct client expectations)

Three positions have been filled so far, one candidate is from Northern Ireland and the other two are from the UK. We have interviewed and assessed over 20 Irish candidates, but so far, nada :-( (in fairness, there was one very good Irish candidate, but we couldn't come to an agreement on the salary)

There are a few MA courses in Ireland that should be able to supply graduates for this kind of job, but based on what I've seen so far, they are not adequately preparing their students for the industry they want to get into.

The standard of equivalent courses in the UK seems to be much higher and much better aligned with industry requirements, which was certainly an eye-opener.

CricketDude

desaparecidos wrote: »

We've had around 9 software development positions available for a month or more in my company and we are finding it very hard to get applicants, never mind have the luxury of picking the decent ones for interviews.

Out of the CVs that were sent in, only 1 or 2 were Irish.

In the end we had to send some of the job specs to UK recruitment firms to try and get some people from over there.

So where are all of the unemployed Irish? Too busy living it up on the dole to care about working for a living?

You are only giving one side of the story here.
What kind of money and benefits are you offering them?
If you pay the right price you'll easily get people. So come on, out with it. If its good you might even get a load of CVs from boards.

longhalloween

You're gonna have to go after college students. There's hundreds of IT jobs going in Ireland and most IT companies are currently expanding.

With Google, Facebook, Twitter and Intel hiring college grads there's really not many options if you're looking for quality applicants.

You could hire me! Just gimme a year to finish my degree :pac:

Bandana boy

Seeing as you have not mentioned the quality of responses but rather the quantity I firmly believe it is your recruitment process that is at fault.

Is your HR dept sieving the candidates too finely ?
Have you a very tight spec and lower than industry salary ?

Combine the two and you could find your HR dept has hundreds of Cv's that do not meet the exact spec and as such they are withholding.

Or they could be looking in the wrong place.

I know I have had difficulty recruiting recently but that was on finding a good match nothing to do with quantity of Cv's, in fact i was buried in the bloody things

mikemac1

Anything is possible with the right package.
And the potential candidates have decided you're not paying the going rate

Maybe your employer has subscribed to never waste a good recession and the salary reflects that

Adverts.ie advertise jobs now, you could put the job spec up there
Maybe you'll get a few boardsies applying

ABajaninCork

mikemac1 wrote: »

never waste a good recession

This phrase for me describes PERFECTLY what is going on in the job market.

Greedy employers taking every opportunity to crush workers even more by cutting wages, cutting jobs and having workers live in fear of the sack if they dare to complain.

srsly78

Not in the IT job market. All these places that whine about not being able to find staff are obviously paying below the market rate.

Eod100

Why don't you give your company's name?

Some boards users may be interested in applying for the jobs..

finisklin

It is an employers market out there. IT isn't my field and given the significant presence of several massive web based/IT firms (Google, Ebay, Fbook, HP etc.) this area is going to attract the cream of the IT crop.

Salary is a key way to attract the right skillset, this only goes so far in the current environment. People are afraid to switch jobs as security of tenure and benefits mean a lot. Has the company sold itself and is it's vision clear to candidates? Sometimes this can put off people, even in the current environment.

As regard wasting a good recession......salaries reflect demand and supply and what the market will bear. Unfortunately the inflated salaries of yester year are long gone and gilded graduates have to put their best foot forward. This is no bad thing as people swap job security and experience for less cash. Would I swap less cash for no job at all? I'd prefer to be working than doing SFA.

Perhaps be more creative in your job search and try posting the ad on here on boards.

srsly78

finisklin wrote: »

Salary is a key way to attract the right skillset, this only goes so far in the current environment. People are afraid to switch jobs as security of tenure and benefits mean a lot.

The situation in IT is actually the opposite. Many experienced developers are self-employed, and contract themselves out. This means no job security at all, but better wages. Self-employment means you sort out your own benefits (pension, expenses etc), and these stay with you between jobs. It also helps when it comes to working internationally.

finisklin

In some respects IT is leading the way in this new work environment. Companies preference is for contractors as they are a resource that can be used as and when required without any long term commitment. This is being introduced outside of IT and HR is an area where it has been successfully used.

I have been through several processes where I have had interviews (usually telephone) by outsourced HR people. The focus of these initial interviews is competency based and the skill set required by the HR person is to ask questions that determine whether the candidate can do the job or not.

Do these HR people command significant contractor rates? Probably not but it may suit there life style as they can work from home.

Will IT continue to command such high rates of salary and contractor fees? Probably, but will firms continue to challenge these rates and the value that they add? Definitely yes as other more specialised functions have become process driven so will IT.

Now why didn't I do IT at college? MMMHHHHH the benefit of hindsight!

niallers1

desaparecidos wrote: »

We've had around 9 software development positions available for a month or more in my company and we are finding it very hard to get applicants, never mind have the luxury of picking the decent ones for interviews.

Out of the CVs that were sent in, only 1 or 2 were Irish.

In the end we had to send some of the job specs to UK recruitment firms to try and get some people from over there.

So where are all of the unemployed Irish? Too busy living it up on the dole to care about working for a living?

Maybe you are not paying enough?

Spacedog

OP, Why should you keep your job as an IT manager if you don't know enough about your own industry to recruit good, experienced people at a reasonable rate. The fact that you have to ask on boards.ie for advice on how to do your job, clearly illustrates this point.

desaparecidos

Spacedog wrote: »

OP, Why should you keep your job as an IT manager if you don't know enough about your own industry to recruit good, experienced people at a reasonable rate. The fact that you have to ask on boards.ie for advice on how to do your job, clearly illustrates this point.

Who said I was an IT manager?