According to a recent report, skilled workers in life sciences, IT, construction, health and financial activities are amongst the most in demand and proving to be the most difficult to find to fill vacancies for employers as we move into a post Covid jobs market.
In October 2021, the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit (SLMRU) in SOLAS carried out a Recruitment Agency Survey. The survey sought to highlight occupations that require skills which are in short supply and are proving difficult to fill. The survey was able to achieve this by gathering the views of selected Irish recruitment agencies.
The findings indicated that the demand for skills in sectors such as life sciences, IT, construction, health and financial activities continued despite the difficulties faced for many in the Irish labour market in 2021.
In Demand Workers
Science, engineering & technology
In Science, engineering & technology 46% reported difficulty filling vacancies for:
IT — Software developers, mobile/web developers, IT engineers (e.g. devOps, security, test, virtualisation), designers, architects (cloud, data, IT, solutions), data analysts/scientists, technical support staff (with languages)
&
Engineering — engineers (process, validation, automation, manufacturing, quality and regulatory, R&D, electrical, environmental, health and safety (EHS)), scientists (analytical, process), compliance and regulatory affairs specialists, technicians (maintenance, quality)
Construction
In Construction 26% reported difficulty filling vacancies for:
Project/site managers, quantity surveyors, engineers (electrical, civil/site engineers, construction design, EHS), BIM, planners, safety officers, administrators Construction drivers (e.g. forklift, crane, site dump, teleporter), carpenters (including shuttering), electricians, steel erectors/fixers, welders, scaffolders, pipe layers, curtain wallers, glaziers/fitters, ground workers.
Health
In Health 9% reported difficulty filling vacancies for:
Nurses (e.g. theatre, oncology, cath lab, ICU), registrars, nurse managers, GPs, healthcare assistants
Transport & Logistics
In Transport & Logistics 8% reported difficulty filling vacancies for:
HGV/artic truck drivers, warehouse operatives, procurement roles, transport management roles, customs clearance, forklift drivers, freight forwarding, support roles
Finance
In Finance 8% reported difficulty filling vacancies for::
Financial managers, accountants (including tax), regulatory, financial controllers, financial admin roles, customer service agents
Other
Under ‘Other’, 8% reported difficulty for such roles as
Admin assistance, chefs, waiting staff.
You can download the Recruitment Agency Survey here.
