US multinationals to create 14,000 Irish jobs over two years

US multinationals in Ireland are expected to create an additional 14,000 jobs here over the next 24 months, according to the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland (AmCham).

The chamber based its prediction on the employment plans of companies in the sector, which already employ about 140,000.

The group hosted an event in Dublin yesterday to showcase the career opportunities that now exist in Ireland, with a view to attracting emigrants back home and/or non-Irish nationals to relocate here.

Its World of Talent event at the offices of software group Workday in Smithfield was attended by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and representatives of US multinationals, including Intel, Microsoft, Twitter, Paypal and LinkedIn.

"When we meet with clients and ask them about their priorities when developing their businesses in Ireland, talent is always at the top of the list," IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan said.

“No business can succeed without good talent, and this initiative will make our diaspora aware of the opportunities that exist within companies located in Ireland,” he said.

Mr Shanahan said it was also important that Ireland was viewed as an attractive place to come and live by non-Irish nationals, especially with almost 200 million workers in the European labour market free to move here.

The theme of providing a better quality of life for prospective Irish workers was echoed by several other speakers.

"We've got to look outward to attract people back so that we can give them a career not just a job," Paypal's Louise Phelan said, noting the quality of life, or as she called the "aftercare", was an essential part of the equation.

She also said it was crucial companies did not start trading the existing pool of talent among themselves, which would “attritional and costly”.

The biggest problem for Paypal was recruiting skilled workers, Ms Phelan said, noting that her company was likely to expand its 2,400 workforce here to 2,900 by the end of 2018.

Managing director of its Twitter’s Irish arm Stephen McIntyre talked about the importance of establishing an organisation’s culture early on.

“You encode the cultural DNA of any organisation in the first 20, the first 50 hires,” he said.

Despite the stereotype, Mr McIntyre said there were no foosball tables or beanbags in Twitter’s Irish offices.

“We wanted to produce an organisation that would have a reputation worldwide within Twitter for always delivering…no complaints, no excuses.”

Intel's Eamonn Sinnott, who is also president of AmCham, said as technology pervades everything we do, firms were increasingly employing people with multidisciplinary skills, essentially those who could combine creative skills with "the rigour of hard engineering".

Recrutment firm Cpl Resources, meanwhile, has launched an online concierge service dedicated to helping Irish emigrants return home.

The “One Tribe” resource provides prospective returnees with information on how to come home, how to find a job, how to find a place to live and how to manage the finances around the move.