Sharing the title with Spain, Portugal and the US, Ireland’s talent mismatch has been rated the highest around, with wage pressures making it extremely hard for companies to source talent.
Hays’ 2016 Global Skills Index makes for interesting reading, with Ireland standing out as a particularly curious case.
Ranking highest in terms of talent mismatch, other problems such as wage pressures when hiring highly skilled workers is bad news for employers.
Competition, married with far too few qualified workers, means the likes of IT, life sciences and construction are currently faced with a “chasm” to which Ireland over-contributes.
The demand for skilled labour in Europe has increased slightly, according to the report, though some growth is faster than others. It’s particularly strong in several economies worst hit by the financial crisis, “such as Ireland, Portugal and Spain”, according to Hays.
While overall the Irish jobs market is buoyant and improving, with businesses “genuinely confident” and investing in growth, Richard Eardley, MD of Hays Ireland, has words of caution.
“The talent mismatch remains a significant issue and skills shortages are still prevalent across IT, construction and life sciences,” he said.
“Tech companies in particular are finding it difficult to source the skills they need and in construction, there is a shortage of surveyors, engineers and architects.
Nevertheless, there are signs of positivity emerging in Ireland, with workers aged 15-24 helping to partially ease the growing problems.
“There are schemes in place to encourage Irish professionals who have been working overseas to return and enjoy this period of growth,” added Eardley.
The US faces a similar talent mismatch as Ireland, though what Hays calls a “declining in wage pressures” (dropping to 9.9, out of a total score of 10.0), is part of a turnaround.
“Employers are struggling to fill niche roles, while some jobseekers are struggling to find a suitable role,” said Dan Rodriguez, CEO and MD of Hays USA.
