- Irish and multinational tech firms look to up profile to combat skills scarcity
Our first email newsletter of the New Year (“New PR Insights”) includes advice for Irish tech firms looking to break into the US or other global markets. This is timely in view of new encouraging economic data reported in the New York Times which shows that the US added 200,000 new jobs in December reducing its unemployment rate to 8.5% (down from 8.7% in November).
The New York Times reports that the job figures, “built on a flurry of heartening economic news in December, when consumer confidence rose, manufacturing came in strong and small businesses showed signs of life”. (In the next issue of New PR Insights, subscribe here, we will include advice for tech firms selling in to the buoyant German market).
The US development follows more positive news this month for the tech sector from the IDA which reported a net increase in jobs last year of 6,000 compared to 1,400 in 2010. The bulk of the jobs are in tech, biotech and life sciences.
Thus, competition to hire tech skills will accelerate in Ireland in 2012. Tech firms, both indigenous and multinational, will have to maintain or up awareness and profile in Ireland in order to recruit the best people. The success of the IDA in attracting the world’s technology household names means that all tech firms here are competing against the cream of the crop for good people.
Many of the Irish tech firms featured in the (always excellent) Karlin Lillington review of the year ahead in The Irish Times stressed that a major challenge will be recruitment. Thus both indigenous and international tech firms will be looking to raise profile in Ireland in 2012, even if only a small part of their revenue arises here.
For Irish firms it will be important to raise profile too for investor reasons as traditional loan finance from the banks remains as rare as the sight of a Trapattoni full back over the half way line.
Happy New Year!
Tags: IDA, Karlin Lillington, New PR, recruitment, Tech jobs, Tech PR