Hays recruitment specialist is hiring 40 graduates from Irish universities this year to work in its offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway, the company announced today.
Hays says it hopes to place 40pc more positions in 2011 than in 2010, due to an increased activity in the Irish market, particularly among multinational companies and export-led indigenous firms.
“There is no better barometer for the Irish economy than a recruitment agency,” stated Richard Eardley, managing director for Hays in Ireland.
“When recruiters recruit for themselves in large numbers, you know their clients are flat out and that’s great news for the jobs market. In turn, companies only recruit in such numbers to feed significantly increased activity.”
Hays has a network of offices across Ireland and in 30 countries around the world. It is holding a Global Career Event in Dublin today to find graduates for its Irish locations and its operations on four continents. Hays says it is seeking to fill 500 recruitment positions worldwide, including the 40 positions allocated to its Irish offices.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for recent graduates or final-year students,” said Eardley. “The great thing about recruitment is that you don’t need to have a specific background or qualification, as long as you have the aptitude and desire to succeed. With 500 consultant positions up for grabs internationally, there are many career starts for people who want to stay in Ireland or go abroad.”
The event will be held in Chartered Accountants House, Pearse Street, today from 6.30pm – 8.30pm. It will introduce a career in recruitment and highlight the benefits of working with Hays. Recruitment experts from Ireland, the UK and the rest of the world will be available for questions and there will be a video link with Hays Australia.
Salary levels in Ireland stabilised
On 24 February, Hays revealed salary levels for newly-recruited professionals stabilised in 2010, with some niche positions where recruits are in short supply witnessing increases of 20pc, according its Annual Salary Guide.
Hays examined the salaries and terms and conditions across 934 positions in seven key sectors, including accounting and finance, IT, banking, financial services, HR, construction and property, insurance and office support. Almost all sectors saw salaries level out after dropping by as much as 30pc in 2009.
“It’s great to not only see salary rates a lot steadier this year, but increases starting to emerge. This is generally being reflected in the level of hiring going on, as well,” said Eardley.
“This is due in no small part to the multinationals present in Ireland. They are currently maintaining the economy and the good news is that we continue to attract investment so there is demand across a wide range of disciplines,” added Eardley.
The research showed that IT was the strongest sector in the economy last year, with new IT-centric organisations selecting Ireland as their European headquarters and existing companies expanding within the State.
The study also showed that project work was most prevalent in the financial services and public-services sectors. Contractors with expertise in Java, C# and .net on the development side and VMWare, Unix and SAN specialists on the infrastructure side, are all highly sought after. In the niche end, a virtualisation network manager on contract earned from €350 per day in 2009 to €385 in 2010. It also revealed that Java is still in demand for permanent employees, as is C#.
“Permanent recruiters value industry experience as much as skills and any individuals with financial services, FMCG, technology and public-sector backgrounds will find options in the market. Saving money is currently foremost in many companies’ minds, so candidates with experience of technologies that cut costs, such as cloud computing, virtualisation CRM/ERP and automation, will command premium salaries. Nordic languages, German and Dutch are also in demand,” according to the Annual Salary Guide.
