Employment hubs

There are two main hubs for employment in Ireland: Dublin and Cork. For your best chance of obtaining work in Ireland, it would be a good bet to stick to Dublin and Cork.

Dublin

  • Dublin is by far the biggest hub for employment in Ireland
  • Of the 2.1m people employed in Ireland, about half work in Dublin
  • The hub for the public sector, which employs 17% of workers
  • Also the hub for financial and business services, which employs 14% of all workers

Cork

Second biggest employment hub in Ireland
A hub for the following sectors:

  • Pharmaceutical
  • Bio-technology
  • Medical

Key industries/professions

Of the different employment sectors, the biggest is the services sector, which employs two-thirds of all workers, while about one-third of workers are in manufacturing and construction.

Areas of reasonably strong demand for workers

The Irish labour market has been one of the strongest in Europe this decade.

Like many countries it is facing a testing time in the wake of the credit crunch.

But there are still sectors where there is strong demand for staff:

  • Medical
  • Nursing jobs
  • Medical practitioners
  • Highly skilled IT personnel
  • Engineering
  • Chemical engineers
  • Electrical engineers
  • Quality control engineers
  • Banking and finance
  • Credit controllers
  • Compliance
  • Risk analysis
  • Underwriting

Chances of getting sponsorship

To get approval from the Irish Government to work in Ireland (see work permits, above), you will need a job offer from an employer. In other words, you’ll have to apply for a job, then be successful at getting it, before you can get a work permit.

However, employers in Ireland are very happy to take on workers from overseas. With so many foreign workers having arrived in London in the past decade, they have found the experience of taking on foreign workers very positive.

How to find a job

Network, network, network

First, get in contact with everyone you know in Ireland, or who has lived there previously, and ask them if they have leads on any jobs that may be on offer. Talk to friends, friends of friends, or anyone you can think of that can help. The old saying ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’ often rings true, and a personal recommendation or tip can go a long way in pointing you in the right direction.

Professional bodies

Unions and professional registration bodies (such as those for doctors or architects) can be a useful source of information. Search online for one related to you.

The Training and Employment Authority
FÁS is Ireland’s National Training and Employment Authority (Foras Áiseanna Saothair). There’s plenty of useful info on its website, and you can upload your CV for potential employers to browse.

Online searching

Job boards

There are numerous websites that collate and show job ads posted by companies or recruitment companies. These sites can be general, listing jobs across dozens of industries; or specific, such as only listing jobs in finance or healthcare. These are good for getting an idea about what sort of jobs are currently on offer. See job in Ireland on TNT Jobs

Recruitment companies

These are bodies that actually seek out and place individuals in a particular job. They’ll usually be specific to particular industries or jobs (such as banking and finance, or construction and engineering) and have websites that list jobs relating to their field.
Search online for recruitment firms that relate directly to your field of employment. Once you have found 3-5 of them, get in touch and email your CV.

Wages

Ireland has had some of the strongest wage growth in Europe in the past decade and now enjoys some of the highest wages in the EU. However, it remains to be seen how the economic downturn will affect wages.

Wages for various sectors in 2008 were*:

Banking and finance

  • Compliance/trustee manager: €60-90k per year
  • Compliance/trustee officer: 40-60
  • Settlements manager: 50-60
  • Settlements administrator: 25-45
  • Senior credit analyst: 50-65
  • Credit analyst: 40-48
  • Fund administrator (1-3 years experience) 30-40
  • Pensions manager: 50-70
  • Pensions administrator 25-35

Accountancy

  • Financial/management accountant 55-65
  • Audit manager 60-75
  • Auditor: 40-50
  • Part-qualified accountant: 32-42
  • Book-keeper: 25-40
  • Financial accountant: 50-65
  • Accounts payable and accounts receivable: 32-36

Human resources

  • HR manager (1-3 years experience): 40-55
  • HR administrator: 22-30

Office and administration

  • Office manager: 36-42
  • Administrator (1-3 years experience) 23-30
  • Receptionist (0-3 years experience) 20-26
  • Data entry operator 21-23

Retail

  • Retail sales 20-24
  • Area manager 45-60
  • Customer service representative 18-25

Sales/marketing/PR

  • Sales manager 80-95
  • Sales representative 26-36
  • Key accounts manager 40-55
  • PR manager 40-60
  • PR officer 25-35

Engineering

  • Engineering manager 55-70
  • Engineering supervisor 50-60
  • Mechanical engineer 35-50
  • Electrical engineer 35-50
  • Chemical engineer 40-60
  • Civil engineer 60-80
  • Structural engineer 60-80

IT

  • Systems manager 50-60
  • Systems analyst 30-55
  • Analyst programmer (3-5 years experience) 35-55
  • Software engineer (3-5 years experience) 30-55
  • Systems operator (1-5 years experience) 20-40
  • Web developer 23-38

* Source: Manpower Ireland http://www.manpower.ie/jobseekers/main_salary_information.asp

Wages in the healthcare sector**:

  • Staff nurse 30-42
  • Clinical nurse manager 41-54
  • Director of nursing 54-83
  • Audiologist 32-37
  • Biochemist 36-54
  • Biochemist senior 51-68
  • Biochemist 36-55
  • Physiotherapist 36-47
  • Senior physiotherapist 48-57
  • Radiographer 34-45
  • Senior radiographer 42-49
  • Occupational therapist 36-47
  • Occupational therapist manager 58-71

** Source: Life Science Recruitment
http://lifescience.ie/science-salaries-scale-survey.cfm