Living and working in Ireland

Market Outlook in Ireland

2010 saw some very challenging economic conditions in Ireland, which were well-publicised across Europe. Despite that, certain sectors within the Irish market remained very positive with strong growth. Service Export was one such sector with growth of over 6% in the first half of 2010 and an approximate prediction of 5% in the second. Recruitment in this area continues to flourish with opportunities in a broad range of disciplines such as Accountancy, Management Consultancy, Computer Services, Financial Services, and Sales & Marketing. For candidates that combine strong skills in these areas with native level fluency in a European language, the employment prospects in Ireland are excellent. 

This market is predominantly made up of large-scale multi-national companies servicing the EMEA market from a base in any of the main Irish cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. Key companies include IBM, Siemens, SAP & VMware. Most of these companies were attracted into the country initially due to a combination of low corporation tax and access to a highly skilled and motivated workforce (both local and European). Ireland continues to attract big businesses with recent job creation announcements in the following companies: Merck, D&B, Axa, eBay, Paypal, and Stream Global Services. By 2014, the IDA is predicting up to 105,000 new service industry related jobs.

The Outlook in Financial Services

The Financial Services market in Ireland is made up of a diverse range of businesses, ranging from SME/Brokerages through to large multinational insurance groups and offshore re-insurance companies. Despite the challenges of the past year, Ireland remains an attractive country for these businesses to establish an off-shore function. The Irish Financial Service Centre in Dublin, which houses the back offices of some of the world’s largest Financial Institutions (insurance and banking) accounts for a large percentage of the entire service export market.

There were some very positive developments in 2010 across the Financial Services market. Zurich Financial Services has recruited heavily across the past year as it relocates and establishes its European Centre in Dublin, likewise Aviva have continued to vamp up their European operations with extensive recruitment campaigns for their Dublin operation. Many large European banks have continued to establish divisions for retail banking products in Ireland and have seen a solid 2010 in terms of recruitment.

The demand in this market centres around the following roles: Actuaries, Insurance specialists with previous personal injury experience, Transfer Agency Supervisors, Fund Acountants, Business Analysts and Risk and Compliance Specialists

The Outlook in Accountancy & Finance

We have seen an increased demand for accountants and finance professional with language skills in the past year, particularly in the larger business hubs of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. This is primarily generated by multinational companies who are expanding their teams and services. The future is looking positive: 60% of employers who responded to a recent survey of the sector from Accenture stated that they will expand operations over the next 3 years.

Within these areas, there are requirements for Managers, Supervisors and Team Leaders.

The Outlook in IT

IT job registrations with language requirements have more than doubled in the last 12 months. These roles tend be with multinational IT companies based in the major cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway and are at first and second line support level. All indications from customers in this area are that the demand for candidates with languages is set to continue as they bid and are successful in winning more new business.

The first line support roles are first and foremost language driven and customers will consider graduates with some customer service experience or perhaps an interest in IT. The second line support roles are more technical and clients are looking for candidates with first or second line experience with exposure to products such as Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Support Server and some networking knowledge such as TCP/IP.

The Outlook in Sales & Marketing

There was a consistent demand throughout 2010 for Inside Sales professionals to work in the technology hubs of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. This sector has proved to be the most resilient during the recession and as market conditions continue to improve, we expect aggressive growth in this area in 2011.

The positions range from entry level, where some basic technical knowledge and business-to-business sales experience is all that is required paired with the relevant language, to more senior positions, where previous Inside Sales experience is a pre-requisite. Experienced candidates tend to find the roles very financially rewarding. At management level, candidates will need to have the language, technical sales experience and management/leadership experience.

Salary Guide

Below is a range of jobs in Ireland which can typically require a second language. The salary ranges are based on experience from entry up to five years. You can also register for our full 2011 Salary Guide.

Gross salary is what you can expect to earn before any deductions.
Net salary is what you can expect to receive after all deductions and credits which include:

• Income Tax (PAYE)
• Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI)
• PAYE and Single person credits
• Income and health levies

Please note that these figures are intended only as a guide – salaries and net pay will vary depending on the skills and experience of the candidate, the size and location of the organisation and any other benefits received from the employer in the employee’s remuneration package.