As the economic doom and gloom of 2010 draws to a close, most of us look enthusiastically forward to 2011 for better prospects and greater stability. It goes without saying that 2010 has been possibly the most difficult year that the Irish job market has faced but there is light at the end of the tunnel in the form of technology job growth.
We look back now over some of the more positive announcements of 2010, as well as some predictions that, should they come to fruition, could make for a more fruitful and productive 2011 and beyond. We’ll start with what we know.
Announcements:
EI firms to create 60,000 jobs by the end of 2015
The announcement by Minister Batt O’Keeffe last July was certainly an uplifting one. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation announced that Enterprise Ireland-supported companies are set to create 60,000 new jobs by the end of 2015, as the Government agency’s annual report for 2009 was published. Whether or not this announcement will fall foul of Budget 2011 remains to be seen.
Pharmaceutical to envisage 4,500 jobs in Co Kerry
Pharmaceutical company Pharmadel announced its plans to create more than 4,500 pharmaceutical research jobs in Co Kerry, creating up to 400 jobs in advance of opening, with more than 4,500 jobs envisaged when the centre is operational.
500 digital economy jobs at Paddy Power
The online betting company Paddy Power made this announcement last November as part of its major expansion of its online operations. The company said it plans to bring total employment in its Irish operations to more than 2,000.
500 jobs spring up at at Bord Gáis
Bord Gáis made this announcement last May. The company has recently expanded its electricity producing operations recently with a 400m power plant beginning operations in Cork as part of its ‘Big Switch’ campaign. Bord Gáis also said it expected to expand its workforce by 500 over the next three years. The job creation is a result of its Wind farms and Home Services initiative.
400 new jobs for Dublin to support Xbox 360 in European market
Stream Global Services made the job announcement as part of a €2.5m investment to support a major “video game console manufacturer” before announcing that it would be with Microsoft. The call centre firm said it would provide multilingual support in 16 languages for the video-game console manufacturer’s European customers out of its centre in Dublin.
And now for the predictions:
Taoiseach predicts 270,000 jobs
Long before the IMF came to town and forced the Government to face facts and own up to its inadequacies, Brian Cowen announced in July that €40bn of investments was targeting more than 270,000 direct and indirect jobs up to 2016 as part of the Government’s ‘Infrastructure Investment Priorities 2010-2016 programme’, which Cowen said the Irish State would invest up to 4pc of gross national product, or €40bn, on capital projects between 2010 and 2016.
IDA chief predicts 10,000 digital jobs next year
Between 9,000 and 10,000 jobs were predicted this month as a direct result from foreign investment. IDA Ireland chief Barry O’Leary made the announcement on the back of his prediction that direct foreign investment would continue to grow and generate jobs in the field of digital media.
