ICT Ireland tackles skills shortage

18-07-2005

by Deirdre McArdle

ICT Ireland has launched its third graduate placement programme in a bid to boost the number of graduates taking up positions in the IT sector.

The graduate placement programme will provide over 100 graduates with a six-month placement at a number of ICT companies around the country. ICT Ireland, the association which represents the high tech within IBEC, announced the programme amid nationwide concerns at the decline of graduates entering ICT related courses.

"We need to get the message across -- the industry is booming, there are great jobs out there, and we need bright, talented graduates with ICT qualifications to fill them," said Jim O'Hara, general manager of Intel Ireland and a member of the ICT Ireland Board.

The graduate placement programme offers graduates the opportunity to gain some experience working in the sector prior to applying for full time positions. This opportunity has served them well, according to Kathryn Raleigh, director of ICT Ireland, who said, "Many graduates felt that, despite the growing number of jobs available, candidates were still required to have some previous experience in the sector."

Over two-thirds of graduates who completed a six-month placement in 2004 were offered a permanent position with their host company. In addition, several of the companies took on all of the graduates placed with them on a permanent basis.

For the first time this year, the programme, which is primarily for computing and ICT related engineering, will provide a number of opportunities for marketing graduates interested in working in the ICT sector.

The graduate placement programme is a key part of ICT Ireland's strategy to promote the IT industry as a career choice at both second and third level. The sector employs over 100,000 people in Ireland and is one of the largest contributors to the Irish economy. In recent months though, ICT companies and organisations have become concerned about the lack of graduates with IT skills.

A survey released by IT recruitment consultant Rescon at the beginning of July revealed that 88 percent of companies surveyed are finding it difficult to recruit specialist IT staff. The survey also showed that opportunities in the IT sector continue to grow; in the past 12 months the number of employment opportunities grew by 28 percent. Far from slowing down, Rescon noted an average monthly increase of 9.5 percent in new opportunities in the first half of 2005.

Just last week the Council of Directors of the Institutes of Technology met with the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin with an aim to tackle the skills shortages in the ICT sector. The Council aims to ensure that every Institute graduate has a minimum level of ICT literacy, as well as provide support for second level schools to promote ICT as a career and expand conversion courses to address the shortage of ICT graduates.