by Niall Murray | Nov 11, 2013 | General Interest, Irish Market
The 2013 SCCUL Enterprise Awards were recently launched by Galway City Manager Brendan McGrath. The awards are an initiative of community based SCCUL Enterprises Ltd aided by Ballybane Enterprise Centre, St. Columba’s Credit Union, Galway City Council and The Galway Independent. Entries are now being accepted for the prize fund of over €50,000 which will be divided among the winners. The overall winner of the cash prize of €10,000 and a promotional package worth €2500 will be picked from amongst the winners of the following eight categories: · Business Services · Consumer Goods & Services · ICT · Social Enterprise · Agriculture & Food · Cleantech · Entertainment, Media & Leisure · Med Tech, Pharma & Biotechnology. The winners will be announced at the SCCUL Enterprise Awards Ceremony and Business Expo in the Bailey Allen Hall, NUI Galway on Monday, January 27th 2014. Padraig O’Callaghan, Chairman of SCCUL Enterprises Ltd said: ‘This awards scheme aims to encourage the development of an enterprising business culture in Galway City and County which in the longer term will help us sustain growth and make a significant contribution to creating a vibrant region and to achieving greater social inclusion’. Our own Colman Collins (Managing Director) and Michelle Murphy (Regional Manager – Galway) are delighted to be involved again this year in their capacity as members of the judging panel. How To Enter: The competition is open to all businesses in Galway City and County with a sales turnover up to and not exceeding €1.5 million in their last year of trading. Entries are welcome from new business or innovative projects and from both for-profit and not for-profit organisations. The competition is free to enter. You can fill in the online entry form at www.scculawards.ie. Completed hard copy applications must be returned to SCCUL Enterprise Awards, Ballybane Enterprise Centre by 5.30pm on Monday 18th November 2013. Online Entries or applications submitted via email returned to ballybaneec@gmail.com will be accepted up until midnight on Monday 18th November 2013. ...Read More
by Niall Murray | Oct 23, 2013 | Career and Interview Advice, General Interest, Irish Market, Jobs in Ireland, Recruitment
Collins McNicholas Midlands yesterday held a very successful careers advice event for jobseekers in the Sheraton Athlone Hotel. Thank you to all who came along, we hope you found our advice helpful. If you are a jobseeker looking for some helpful tips, check out our video gallery where you will find invaluable advice on ‘How to Write a CV’, ‘Finding a Job in Ireland’, ‘Using LinkedIn to Find a Job’ and ‘Interview Tips’. To download CV templates and for our step by step guide on how to write a winning CV, visit our CV advice page. Our professional staff at each of our five offices are happy to talk to you about your career options, so feel free to give us a call or send in your CV. ...Read More
by Niall Murray | Aug 1, 2013 | General Interest, Irish Market
NIBRT Bioprocessing Industry Training Day On Tuesday July 16th 2013 Collins McNicholas sent a number of our Recruitment consultants to the National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) for a one day introductory course on the Bioprocessing Industry. NIBRT is a world-class institute that provides training and research solutions for the bioprocessing industry. It supports industry by providing trainees with an opportunity to train in an environment that closely matches what they would find in modern biopharmaceutical facilities. The course started with a lecture giving an introduction to the Bioprocessing Industry. We covered the differences between Pharmaceuticals and Biopharmaceuticals and were introduced to the major steps involved in the production of Biopharmaceuticals including Upstream and Downstream Processing. The lecture really brought home the importance of modified cells in protein production. We then had to put on our Personal Protective Equipment before we were taken on a tour of the Facility. The tour really helped in grasping the production process from start to finish. Next we had two lectures that explained upstream and downstream processing in more detail. Upstream operations involve cell culture, cell counting, cell banking and then culture growth and up-scaling to the production bioreactor. Downstream operations involve Harvesting, Centrifugation, Microfiltration, Ultrafiltration and Chromatography respectively. We were shown some of the equipment needed in a biologics facility. The process of cell culture, cell counting and cell banking were explained. We were also shown the range of different cell culture growth equipment and the range of different designs for bioreactors. Following the lectures we got some hands on experience with two laboratory practicals. The first was a cell...Read More
by Niall Murray | Apr 30, 2013 | Career and Interview Advice, General Interest, Irish Market, Recruitment, Supply Chain and Logistics
There is a continuing demand for experienced Supply Chain professionals as companies see improvements in Supply Chain as one area where they can improve their Customers experience and also reduce costs. Areas within Supply Chain where demand still exists include; Procurement, Order Management, Forecasting, Planning, Vendor Management, Supplier Quality and Logistics & Distribution. Individuals who have experience working in an international environment with responsibility for Supply Chain activities in multi countries are in greater demand. We have also seen a trend where companies are setting up shared service operations to include managing supply chain for EMEA operations and we predict this trend will grow. As well as the functional knowledge and experience required, the generic skills required across the majority of Supply Chain roles are strong interpersonal, organisational, prioritisation and Project Management skills. Despite the advances in ERP systems ( Oracle & SAP being two of the most common) which has allowed many processes to become automated / computerised it is still essential for Supply Chain professionals to be able to build strong working relationships with many people in different functions within their organisation and with many different external stakeholders, e.g. vendors and customers. We in Collins McNicholas have seen strong demand for Supply Chain professionals since the start of the year. The roles have ranged from senior level roles, such as Purchasing Director, Supply Chain Manager to more junior level Buyer/Planner roles. Salary levels for senior director roles can range from €90k-120K while buyer/planner salary levels can range from €40k-55K. To see the full list of our current Supply Chain and Logistics roles, please click on this link...Read More
by Niall Murray | Apr 10, 2013 | General Interest, Irish Market, Recruitment
The governments new ‘Action Plan for Jobs’ has a total of 333 initiatives, spread out over 16 departments, and 46 agencies or offices. It is a continuation from the 2012 ‘Action Plan for Jobs’ which, it has been claimed, saw the implementation of 90% of the 270 initiatives contained within it. Despite the high level of implementation, the government makes no mention of how successful the measures were in creating employment. There has been no public evaluation of the 2012 ‘Action Plan’. Without knowing how effective the previous ‘Action Plan’ was it becomes more difficult to assess the suitability of measures contained in the new one. Until a more systematic analysis of the impact of the previous action plan takes place, we are forced to rely on anecdotal evidence and employment statistics to determine the new action plan’s potential. This article will focus on the ‘disruptive reforms’ as they make up the majority of the new initiatives in the Action Plan. Unemployment Rate Unemployment remains a key concern for the current government and their ‘Action Plan for Jobs’ is the central pillar of their strategy for job creation. The unemployment rate currently stands at 14.7%, representing a decrease of 0.4% over the past 12 months. This is the first year that the rate has declined since the start of the financial crisis.Recent figures from the CSO confirm this positive trend, with their 4th quarter figures for 2012 showing an increase in the total number of people in employment for the first time since the recession began in 2008. There has been growth in the private sector with approximately 20,000...Read More
