Bottleneck Vacancies in Ireland

Transcription

1 Bottleneck Vacancies in Ireland ICT sector particularly affected by recruitment difficulties The majority of hard-to-fill vacancies in Ireland relate to professional positions and appear to be persistent since The ICT sector is particularly affected, reflecting recent strong growth leading to unfilled vacancies ranging from entry level to expert level positions. Engineering, science, health and the financial services sectors are also experiencing recruitment difficulties in certain niche roles. Multilingual user support and customer service roles, requiring additional technical knowledge, are in strong demand. Ireland 2013 Population: 4.6m Workforce: 1.8m Unemployment: 12.6% Vacancies in higher-skilled niches The hard to fill vacancies identified often refer to specialist skills within occupations, and shortages are not of a large magnitude. Demand identified in the ICT sector was strongest for software programmers, with knowledge of widely applicable languages such as Java, JavaScript, C#, C++, C+++, Visual Basic;.Net; SQL data base etc. Engineering roles frequently identified as hard-to-fill included process engineers in areas such as manufacturing and food and chemical and product engineers, for example R&D engineers in the medical devices industry. Strong expansion in certain sectors driving demand Many of the bottleneck vacancies are arising from strong expansion demand, particularly the case in the ICT sector, meaning that the supply of graduates with the required technical skills has been unable to meet demand. In many industries rapid technological innovation has resulted in a demand for hybrid specialist skillsets, often combining IT skills with other knowledge; e.g. lean processes in manufacturing or the use of IT in precision engineering tool design. Joint government-industry responses There is a strong, concerted response to these skill needs, with many initiatives ensuring employers are fully involved in government actions, such as the ICT Action Plan, with the objective of doubling the number of ICT graduates to 2000 by Springboard is an initiative to offer courses for unemployed job-seekers to upskill or reskill for growth sectors such as ICT, Financial Services and Manufacturing. Other skill programmes exist, such as Skillnets, which organises employer-led training networks that ensure employers can define the skills they require. Assessment of available evidence TOP 20 Bottleneck Vacancies in Ireland 2013 Occupation (ISCO-08)* Software programmers Mobile application developers* Games developers 3D Animation* Web developers e.g. SQL, My SQL* Cloud computing specialists* Computer network professionals Process and quality control technicians* Design and development engineers* Electrical engineering technicians Biopharmaceutical scientists* Non-consultant hospital doctors* Specialist nurses* Cardiac technicians* Radiographers* Finance professionals credit, risk* Accountants taxation experts* Data analysts ERP systems* Multilingual user support technicians* Senior IT B2B sales professionals* Precision toolmakers and CNC* Development since 2008 Good. See page 5 for more information. *Where an occupation has been identified on a more specific level than ISCO-4 digit, this is used. Page 1

2 Top 20 Bottleneck Vacancies The list was compiled using the National Skills Bulletin 2013, an annual report analysing the supply and demand of skills in Ireland. Reported within this are findings from the FAS (Training and Employment Authority) Recruitment Agency Survey, a bi-annual survey of 40 private recruitment agencies asked about positions which are hardest to fill. Many hard to fill vacancies appear to be persistent since Some sectors, such as the ICT or pharmaceutical industry have been experiencing strong growth and have seen a steady demand for certain skillsets. The main occupations experiencing shortage are software developers, product development engineers, technicians in the medical devices industry, research scientists, specialist nurses and personal care workers and multilingual sales and customer service roles. Shortage of IT skills have continued to rise and according to a recent report (FIT ICT Skills Audit 2013), there are currently over 4,500 unfilled immediate vacancies in the IT sector. Software programming skills (e.g. Linux, UNIX, Sun s Java, My SQL, Python, Magento etc.) relevant for many of the IT occupations are mentioned as being in strong demand. IT user support positions are also identified as hard to fill, with many contact centre roles requiring fluency in European languages (French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Flemish and Swedish) or relevant product knowledge. Engineering roles received the second largest share of mentions of difficult to fill vacancies. At a professional level, roles required process engineering skills, particularly for the medical devices industry, and quality control engineers for the high-tech manufacturing and the food and beverages industry. Electrical engineers were also in demand for roles associated with power generation, transmission and distribution. Skills shortages in healthcare were identified for specialist nursing roles: older people care, cardio care, intensive and critical care, oncology, and theatre nursing. Occupations are not ranked; however the list reflects how frequently occupations within each sector were identified as difficult to fill in the Recruitment Agency Survey conducted by FAS, the Training and Employment Authority (see p. 5). Rank Bottleneck Vacancies ISCO-08 Number of Employed in Occupation 2012 Skills level (ISCO-08) Geographical aspects Software programmers 17,000 HS Dublin, Mid-East Mobile application developers - HS Dublin, Mid-East Games developers 3D Animation - HS Dublin, Mid-East Web developers e.g. SQL, My SQL 1,900 HS Dublin, Mid-East Cloud computing specialists - HS Dublin, Mid-East Computer network professionals - HS Dublin, Mid-East Process and quality control technicians 4,700 HS National Design and development engineers 4,000 HS National Electrical engineering technicians 6,500 HS National Biopharmaceutical scientists 6,600 HS National Non-consultant hospital doctors - HS National Specialist nurses - HS National Cardiac technicians - HS National Radiographers 800 HS National Finance professionals credit, risk 7,500 HS Dublin, Mid-East Accountants taxation experts 33,000 HS Dublin, Mid-East Data analysts ERP systems - HS Dublin, Mid-East Multilingual user-support technicians 3,800 HS Dublin, Mid-East Senior IT B2B sales professionals - HS Dublin, Mid-East Precision toolmakers and CNC - SM National Elem:Elementary, SNM: Skilled non manual, SM: Skilled manual, HS= High skilled Page 2

3 Main sectors with Bottleneck Vacancies Sectors ICT Life Sciences Financial services Food and beverages Healthcare Bottleneck vacancies Programmers, network specialists Process engineers ERP Data analysts Quality control engineers Specialist nurses, Non-consultant medical doctors Aside from ICT, the high-tech manfacturing sector (e.g. medical devices industry) indicated recruitment difficulties for precision engineering roles, in particular tool design and polymer technology at technician level and process engineering skills at professional level. Persistent vacancies are also identified within the biopharmaceutical sector, particularly for scientists with niche skills in clinical trials and drug development. Bottleneck problems in ICT There are more than 75,000 employed in Ireland s flourishing ICT sector. It has experienced strong expansion between 2007 and 2012, with overall employment in IT occupations steadily increasing. There are currently over 4,500 difficult to fill vacancies in the sector, with a particular demand for software developers and programmers, mobile technology application programmers, IT project managers with technical backgrounds, and network security specialists. The FIT ICT Skills Audit (2013) reports that many vacancies are at intermediate level and could be addressed with short-term training programmes (6-24 months). Future demand is expected for roles related to cloud computing, service design, database management, social networks and media and development of e- commerce applications. Main reasons for Bottleneck Vacancies Lack of technical skills and graduates Many of these bottleneck vacancies arise from strong expansion demand for these occupations, leading to high demand for certain technical competencies. This is particularly the case for the bottlenecks in ICT. According to the ICT Action Plan, there has been a decrease in computing and engineering graduate numbers since 2002, although the education system has been responding rapidly and intake into science and technology courses has continued to expand. Rapidly developing technologies Rapidly developing technologies requiring specific knowledge is also a factor, leading to demand for certain skillsets is outstripping supply; examples include lean processes and increased levels of automation in manufacturing causing high demand for design and development engineers and process control technicians. According to the National Skills Bulletin 2013, the decline in the supply of skills in recent years is due partly to the discontinuation of third level courses in polymer technolgy and tool design. However, these may be addressed as graduates emerge from courses such as Springboard initiativesand IT Sligo level 7 courses. Salary, regulation and other factors According to some reports, low pay was a factor for some nursing roles during training periods, as well as difficult working hours, which more innovative approaches to flexible working would help solve. For senior IT sales professionals, it is difficult to source candidates with the right mix of experience and technical competence. Some elementary occupations show signs of issues with retention e.g. care workers and home carers. Page 3

4 Initiatives to cope with Bottleneck Vacancies A significant response to skills shortages and alignment of the education and training system to the current & future needs of the labour market is ongoing in Ireland. Strategies to mitigate bottlenecks are undertaken within this framework, and frequently consist of joint government-industry action such as the ICT action plan described below. Other sectors are also developing multi-faceted strategies. For example, the EGFSN (Expert Group on Future Skills Needs) report on manufacturing indicates that demand for validation engineering, quality engineering, and other specialisms should primarily be satisfied through qualified engineers undertaking further specialised study, such as masters and post graduate diplomas. Specialised modules and conversion courses at graduate and post-graduate level have also been implemented for ICT and financial services. Skills Strategies National strategies The IT industry has been successfully involved in helping to create conversion courses. Examples include a product management masters degree, or an applied software masters programme, where Ericsson provided direct input into the syllabus. In terms of government subsidised training, Skillnets organises over 60 training networks, groups of companies that have similar training needs, which help to deliver training that suits employers. The Life Sciences Skillnet provides training to Medtech, Pharmaceutical, Biologics, Biopharma manufacturers. It has so far received 1.6 million of government funding over the past 6 years and will have trained over 4,000 people by end of Policy makers are responding actively to ensure the education system can provide graduates with the right skills. In 2012 a joint government-industry ICT Action Plan was published that focused on ensuring a supply of high-level ICT graduates in order to address identified skill shortages. There are a wide range of initiatives relevant to many engineering, science and technology occupations including a successful scheme to offer bonus points to students taking higher level maths, which has seen a 30% increase in student numbers thus far. Wages Recruitment Pay and other benefits are recognised to be good in the ICT sector. According to a 2013 salary survey by Brightwater, salaries for software development disciplines which are very much in demand (such as JEE and C#.Net) have increased by as much as 10% this year. However, there is a concern that businesses competiveness could be affected if such trends continue. Similarly, there is evidence that salaries for specialised manufacturing/production engineers have increased by up to 5% particularly in the medical device, pharmaceutical and electronics industries. A mobile workforce is one particular feature of the IT sector and it is estimated that around 55% of current ICT needs are being met through inward migration. Around one third of companies experiencing difficult to fill vacancies within the green sector had recruited abroad, particularly for small numbers of more experienced staff within the renewable energy and Green ICT subsectors. Although there was a 10% decline compared to 2011 in the overall number of employment permits issued, approximately 300 work permits to non-eea workers were issued to healthcare professionals in Page 4

5 Main sources used to identify Bottleneck Vacancies in Ireland The Bottleneck Vacancies have been identified using one main source: The National Skills Bulletin 2013, an annual report analysing the supply and demand of skills. Reported within this are findings from the SLMRU (Skills and Labour Market Research Unit within FÁS) Recruitment Agency Survey, a bi-annual survey of private recruitment agencies asked about positions which are hardest to fill, with data from The occupation groups identified are broadly reported with respect to how frequently they receive mentions in the survey. The list of occupations was then cross-checked with the occupational groups reported to be experiencing shortage, either in the National Skills Bulletin, or on the Highly -skilled occupations list from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Additional information has been drawn from EGFSN sector reports and other sector specific material, as well as desk research on press releases, news paper articles etc. Finally interviews were conducted to gather information on sector specific recruitment problems, reasons and possible mitigations strategies. Up until April 2008, FÁS produced an employer survey that covered i) vacancies, ii) difficult-to-fill vacancies and iii) employers employment expectations across the main sectors in the economy, but it was discontinued due to cost reasons. Overall, the data quality is assessed to be good. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) produce numerous reports on skill supply and demand in Ireland. For the Recruitment Agency Survey, agencies are asked to identify hard-to-fill occupations over the last 6 months, and the results are aggregated using the frequency of mentions of occupations. For the most recent May 2013 edition responses were received from approximately 40 agencies. Data used to identify shortage occupations is from the National Skills database which is comprised of the following statistics: Demand for skills Employment data (CSO QNHS micro data Q Q4 2012) Vacancy data twice p.a. (FÁS, Irishjobs.ie) SLMRU Recruitment Agency Survey Employment permit data (Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, Migration Unit) Job announcements (IDA Ireland and newspapers) Supply of skills Education and training provision data (HEA, CAO, FETAC, DES) First Destination Survey (HEA) Job seekers (FÁS) Sources Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Highly-skilled occupations list, available at: workpermits/highlyskilledoccupationslist.htm EGFSN, National Skills Bulletin 2013, Jul 2013, EGFSN and Forfas, Addressing High-level ICT Skills Recruitment Needs, Jan. 2012, publication/egfsnsearch.jsp?ft=/publications/2012/title,9406,en.php EGFSN, Future Skills Requirements of the Manufacturing Sector, Dec. 2012, available at: media/ future_skills_requirements_of_manufacturing-publication.pdf EGFSN, Future skill requirements of the Biopharma-Pharmachem Sector, Nov 2010, available at: EGFSN, Vacancy Overview 2012, Feb 2013, available at: Vacancy_Overview_2012-Publication.pdf Fast-track to IT (FIT), Skills Audit, May Page 5