Ireland has highest level of international work experience – survey

26 Nov 2014

Irish people top the charts with regard to international work experience, with foreign workers more than willing to move to Ireland, too, a new report has found.

The Global Talent Report published by IrishJobs.ie has found the Irish workforce to be mobile, sociable and skilled, from all over the world.

The research, which involved a survey of 200,000 people from 70 countries, shows that Irish people have the highest level of international work experience, with 91pc having worked abroad previously.

Motivation of the local workforce in Ireland is high, measured at 87pc, putting the country ahead of the UK and Canada, although behind the US and Germany.

Clearly non-Irish are willing to come and work in the country, too, with that reflected throughout the tech industry in particular. In fact, those that do travel to Ireland to work are often moving from big companies of 200 employees or more – more than half of these are in management positions.

The highest numbers of people willing to work in Ireland from abroad are from Portugal, Finland, Poland, Spain, France, the US and the UK, with almost 40pc actively looking for work, according to the research.

“Ireland is truly a global village attracting people from all over the world. Recent IDA reports that high-level projects won by Ireland make the country attractive to Irish people both here and abroad (and foreign workers) is reflected in the Global Talent Report,” said Safann MacCarthy, MD of IrishJobs.ie Europe.

More than one-third of those willing to work in Ireland from abroad held a degree, 29pc held a master’s degree and 3pc held a PhD, with engineering, computer science and IT high on the list of qualifications.

Key workplace factors for this group were the appreciation for work done and the relationship with colleagues. The relationship with superiors, learning and career development opportunities, and work-life balance all ranked above salary considerations.

Worker looking at map image via Shutterstock

Gordon Hunt
By Gordon Hunt

Gordon Hunt joined Silicon Republic in October 2014 as a journalist. He spends most of his time avoiding conversations about music, appreciating even the least creative pun and rueing the day he panicked when meeting Paul McGrath. His favourite thing on the internet is the ‘Random Article’ link on Wikipedia.

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