The Irish biotech sector is booming, and global firm MSD is reaping the rewards.
MSD is currently expanding its Irish operation, recently announcing 200 new jobs to be rolled out across its Cork, Carlow and Tipperary facilities.
With jobs comes recruitment. We sat down with Ger Carmody, associate VP of operations and site lead at MSD Ballydine, to talk about competition for candidates in STEM; what MSD is doing to attract candidates, and keep them; and what the biotech firm is doing to create the best working environment for all employees.
A recent Career Zoo study indicated that 70pc of those surveyed were looking to change jobs within the year, but that’s not something they’re seeing at MSD.
While Carmody acknowledges that competition can be fierce in the STEM industry, he says that, in his experience, the bulk of short-term roles land at the start of a person’s career, while they’re still trying to find their place.
That changes as a person progresses: “With some experience, people actually tend to stay with a company for, still, quite a long time,” says Carmody.
For those people who want to change roles regularly, Carmody says, MSD may not be the right fit.
“We’re not interested in people moving regularly,” says Carmody. “We invest hugely in people. We make sure they have a good career opportunity within the company – get the experiences we need – because it is a big investment we don’t want to lose.”
Retention
Perhaps the key to MSD’s retention – and to attracting new candidates – lies in its employer proposition. That’s certainly to what Carmody attributes the company’s ability to stay competitive in the industry.
The company has continued to grow over its 50 years in Ireland, and has opened multiple facilities around the country, giving potential employees a breadth of opportunity they may not find at other similar firms.
Beyond that, MSD is also a global organisation, and the opportunity is there for employees to move between facilities.
For more information on working at MSD, watch Carmody’s full interview:
Looking for STEM jobs in Ireland? Check out our Featured Employers section for information on companies hiring right now.
