Report urges action to attract ICT talent

Establishing a single website to attract international information and communications technology (ICT) talent to Ireland is one of the recommendations in a new report, which warns that policymakers need to implement the right strategies to ensure sufficient ICT skills are available.

Demand for high-level ICT skills is set to grow at a rate of 5 per cent a year up to 2018, creating about 44,500 new jobs over that period, according to the report from Forfás.

“Ensuring an adequate supply of creative and innovative ICT talent from both the domestic and international talent pool is key to that effort,” it says.

The report, Addressing Future Demand for High-Level ICT Skills, makes a number of recommendations to ensure that Ireland maintains a strong competitive advantage when it comes to attracting mobile ICT investment and encouraging entrepreneurs to set up, grow and locate their ICT businesses in Ireland. These include mainstream education and training, conversion and reskilling programmes, continuing professional development and attracting experienced international and expatriate talent.

Critical component
The report highlights the key demand for high-level ICT professionals and notes that the level and quality of domestic ICT graduates is a critical component in the supply of skills and over time adding to the stock of experienced professionals.

The report also recommends the establishment of a single website with public and corporate involvement to attract international ICT talent – building on the best of existing websites and balancing the needs of both indigenous and FDI companies, and drawing upon the example of similar portals in Germany and Singapore.

Meanwhile, online hosting group Continent 8 Technologies is set to create 15 jobs at its new Dublin EMEA service operations centre, which was opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny yesterday.

Based in west Dublin, recruitment has already commenced for the first group of the 15 staff to be taken on, and the group is looking to fill positions in product and service development, technical support and customer support.

Michael Tobin, chief executive of Continent 8, said that when the company was making its investment decision it had looked for a facility that had comprehensive and diverse connectivity.