by Niall Murray | May 21, 2012 | Irish Market
In deciding whether to vote YES or NO on the fiscal treaty I have focused in on one question i.e. ” Will voting YES or NO be best for jobs?” I am clear that the answer to this question is unequivocally YES. Specifically I believe a YES vote increases the likelyhood of new multinational companies coming to Ireland and existing ones expending their presence here. This in turn will give rise to jobs in the indigenous companies big and small who provide services to these multinational companies. I am not persuaded by many of the arguments on other aspects of the treaty by proponents and opponents but I am very clear on the jobs issue which is why I will be be voting YES on May 31st.Read More
by Niall Murray | Jul 20, 2011 | Economy, Irish Market, Jobs in Ireland
15th July 2011 ECONOMIC plagues rarely have the selective powers to just take out the bad eggs and leave the good guys standing. A few years ago when Ireland’s economic wheels started to come off, Collins McNicholas Recruitment and HR Services Group MD Colman Collins predicted the downturn would force a lot of shoddy recruitment companies out of the market. He was right, but it also forced out some good ones. The number of recruitment firms has roughly halved. Some reputable ones were driven out by lack of business, others by misguided investments of their goodtime profits into property and failed equities. Collins McNicholas has survived well and is now seeing a significant lift in high skilled vacancies on its books, notably with multinational corporations: 283 vacancies as of yesterday, which is approaching 2007levels. However, the indigenous SME sector is struggling, with low-skilled roles at an all-time low. Colman Collins says: “There are two very contrasting worlds out there —one for multinationals and one for SMEs. We are seeing a huge increase with multinational openings. However, nowadays recruitment agencies don’t get to handle the lesser roles like admin or clerical. Companies have no problems filling those roles themselves. “There is no easy low-hanging fruit. Recruitment companies are now primarily brought in to fill key professional roles in engineering, research, medical devices and ICT, senior managers in general. In many cases, these people are not passive candidates. “These are people who are not readily available. We are having to head hunt, people we find via networks like LinkedIn, who are not actively looking to move. Recruitment agencies have had to work...Read More
by Niall Murray | Sep 23, 2010 | Irish Market, Recruitment
Posted on September 23, 2010 by Colman Collins Irish Times THE PROMOTERS of an ambitious plan to create 4,500 pharmaceutical research jobs in Co Kerry are in talks with the Saudi Arabian government about funding the entire cost of the €4.7 billion project. Taoiseach Brian Cowen yesterday lent his support to the plan to create the large place of employment in Ireland and the biggest pharmaceutical research centre in the world on an industrial park in Tralee. Mr Cowen said the proposed Global Pharmaceutical Centre of Excellence could rely on the “supportive engagement” of the State enterprise agencies to help bring the project to fruition. He added: “When the detailed proposals for the project are submitted, I want to assure you that as head of Government, the expertise of our State enterprise agencies will be at your disposal to assist and support you further to bring this ambitious project to fruition.” The centre, which already employs 65 people, said yesterday it was finalising plans for a planning application to Kerry County Council for a 1.2 million sq ft facility in the Kerry Technology Park in Tralee. It plans to open in February 2013, subject to planning and other permissions. The promoters, Irish pharmaceutical company Pharmadel, say up to 400 jobs will be created in advance of opening, with over 4,500 jobs envisaged when the centre is up and running. Pharmadel employs 12 people selling generic pharmaceuticals in Midleton, Co Cork. Senior figures formerly in the European Commission, US politics and university governance have been approached about joining the board of the centre, according to Rory Doyle, vice president of...Read More
by Niall Murray | Aug 30, 2010 | Economy, Irish Market, Jobs in Ireland, Recruitment
Posted on August 30, 2010 by Colman Collins Minister will give funding so agency can reach employment-creation targets Article by ine Kerr Political Correspondent of the Irish Independent ENTERPRISE Minister Batt O’Keeffe is preparing to accede to the IDA’s demands for an urgent staffing boost so it can cope with the jobs crisis — but he has refused to confirm if he would reinstate all of the 50 posts which had been cut. The flagship agency has been starved of staff and resources at a time when more than 450,000 people are on the Live Register. Last night Mr O’Keeffe said he had accepted the IDA’s arguments for increased resources and would provide funding for extra posts this week. The minister said the IDA would be “quite happy” and “satisfied” with the offer. Read the full article on the Irish Independent...Read More
by Niall Murray | Aug 16, 2010 | Economy, Irish Market
Posted on August 16, 2010 by Colman Collins Economic commentators are generally agreed that the gradual improvement in the economy is unlikely to lead to a reduction in unemployment numbers in 2011. That may well be the case but it obscures the fact that while jobs are continuing to be lost (Business Barometer July 2010) there has been a significant increase in recruitment in multinational companies since the beginning of the year. A strong indicator of the upturn in recruitment is the increase in positions being advertised by job boards and an increase in positions being advertised by recruitment agencies. Irish Jobs in the recently press release on their Q2 results report an 11% increase in the number of jobs advertised in Q2 2010 compared to the figure for Q1 2010. In addition Collins McNicholas is reporting an increase of 43% in Open Jobs in August 2010 compared to the figure for August 2009. Most of these increased vacancies are with their multinational clients with some 50% of them being in the medical devices and pharmaceuticals sectors. The increase in new vacancies is not evenly distributed however as it has been mainly driven by multinational companies which have recommenced hiring. Unfortunately many indigenous companies and the SME sector in general are still in the depths of the recession. Far from recruiting many of these companies are involved in an increasingly desperate fight for their very survival as they are experiencing ever increasing cash flow problems due to credit restrictions and due to growing cash collection difficulties. Looking forward I think it is reasonable to be optimistic about the prospects...Read More
by Niall Murray | Aug 5, 2010 | Economy, Irish Market, Recruitment
Posted on August 5, 2010 by Colman Collins 466,824 on Live Register. Unemployment crisis escalates as thousands emigrate. 252 extra Redundancies a working day reported in July Government’s ‘wait and hope for growth’ policy must change. Lack of National Economic Plan a disgrace. In response to the latest Live Register and Redundancy figures, released today, (Thursday 5th August), ISME, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association, castigated the government for its “hands off” approach to the jobs crisis. The Association called for an immediate National Economic Plan, with increased focus on initiatives to maintain employment, including the reintroduction of the Employment Subsidy Scheme to all sectors of the business community. The latest seasonally adjusted live register figures confirm that 452,500 people are claiming assistance, up 34,400 on the corresponding period last year, an increase of 8%, with the standardised unemployment rate rising to 13.7%. The Redundancy figures confirm that there have been 39,256 redundancies to the end of July, with 57% of these in construction and manufacturing and 43% of job losses were in the services sector. Females now account for 37% of redundancies, confirming that job losses continue to be spread throughout the whole economy. According to ISME Chief Executive, Mark Fielding, “the true level of unemployment is under-reported through increased emigration, increased participation on state training initiatives and a significant rise in individuals remaining in education. These facts mask the true picture in the jobs market; where well over half a million of our citizens are out of work”. “The total lack of an overall economic plan for the country is a...Read More
