A new vision for Ireland’s workforce

“There's far too much talk at the moment about strategy. The nature of strategy is that it takes a three- to five-year view. In other words, a medium to long-term view. If you are unemployed in Ireland at the moment, you don't have three to five years to wait for an answer. You need training, upskilling and a job.†That's the view of Aaron O' Brien, managing director of recruitment and HR specialists CPL Solutions Ltd. “We can't rely on the NDP anymore. roads and bridges are not going to solve our immediate challenges. Instead, we need a short-term plan that links employers, Government and our educational system to the talent base that is available; but I fear that this is a debate that hasn't yet started. And I worry that, unless there is some industry involvement in that debate, then a significant opportunity could be missed.†Ireland is facing into a sustained period of austerity thanks to a €50 billion budget deficit - and this is already having a significant impact on the employment prospects of hundreds of thousands of workers. This is in addition to the organic changes foisted upon the Irish workforce by the move towards the knowledge economy that has swept the western World. If this country is to have any chance of regaining its place at the top table, it will have to find a new way of providing work for more people – and this will require a unified approach from the government, from the educational establishments and, importantly, from industry, he said. Added Mr O'Brien: “While I appreciate the value of the knowledge economy and the various innovation, research and development initiatives that have been undertaken by the State and its development agencies, at the same time, I am also fully aware of the fact that we have a working population of 1.8m people – and it's impossible to see how, at any point in future, we could maintain or grow this number in an economy that is based entirely around innovation and research. “In fact, for most people at the moment, I think hearing about the knowledge economy is a really challenging message. Every time you open the business pages, or hear a Government spokesperson, all you hear about is the knowledge economy, and while I recognise that there will be a trickle-down effect, the fact is that we're not placing a high enough value on the other areas of the economy that have always supported substantial job creation - export and business services, agribusiness, tourism, manufacturing and teleservices.†From his initial time at CPL, Mr O'Brien recognises how Ireland did exceptionally well from the teleservices sector, which once employed hundreds of thousands of people. And this, he says, combined with the influence of the multinationals, created an employment market which is almost unique in Europe, given the numbers of people who can combine both technical and non-technical skills with multi-lingual skills. It is for this reason that he is optimistic about the future of the economy which, he says, is very robust, aside from the banking and property sectors. Additionally, the fact that salaries have come back an average of 10 per cent to 12 per cent - while the 'developing' economies have seen average wage increases of 15 per cent compound per annum – is another reason why the prospects for the Irish jobs market are not as bleak as a €50 billion budget deficit might suggest. Says Aaron O'Brien: “Ireland not only offers exceptional talent, but also genuine value for money and flexibility to an employer. And while some might argue that we have been too dependent on multinationals, the reality is that these companies bring a huge amount of value both in terms of the best practice and experience they offer to our workforce but also in terms of the investment made in the economy, infrastructure and workforce. So, in the very difficult situation where a multinational company has to close down, they do leave behind a very skilled, highly-trained workforce.†He said Ireland has a huge amount of offer, and he didn't think that people are aware of the level of interest being shown in Ireland by international companies at the moment, especially in the area of shared services. While many of the announcements currently being made might appear to be very much in the 'knowledge economy', the reality is that these sorts of investments will include a variety of positions, from research and development to finance, HR, sales, licensing, accounts, IT and customer services.