US games firm to bring 100 jobs to Cork
>19.09.2007 - Through a games support centre located in Cork city,
>US games company, Blizzard Entertainment, will be recruiting 50
>staff initially and plan to hire 50 more within a three year
>timeframe.
>
>Blizzard Entertainment is the maker of the hugely popular World of
>Warcraft online multiplayer role playing game, which is the world?s
>largest game of its kind with over nine million players globally ...
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single9241
370 jobs for Cork in EMC expansion
22.02.2007 - Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál
Martin TD will today announce 370 jobs for Cork as part of an
expansion by EMC?s virtualisation software subsidiary VMWare
locates a major operation in the area...
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single7840
IT job vacancies continue to soar
There has been a 14pc increase in job vacancies in the IT sector to
9,200 in just seven months, according to a Dublin City University
(DCU) survey.
A similar survey carried out by the university in May 2005 showed
vacancies of 8,100 and prompted concerns about a shortage of Irish
graduates to fill the positions.
...
http://www.businessworld.ie/livenews.htm?a=1333715
Irish students may miss out on IT jobs bonanza
16.01.2006 - Irish students are ?shooting themselves in the foot?
when it comes to realising opportunities in terms of the growing
demand for IT workers and instead the industry may have to rely on
migrant workers to fill the skills gap. As the IT sector
experiences an upturn in jobs, there has been a serious downturn in
applications for third-level courses...
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single5908
R&D spend in Ireland on course for 2bn
07.02.2006 - Research and development (R&D) expenditure in the
Irish economy increased to ?1.7bn during 2004, up 10pc on the
previous year. State agency Forfas estimates that the amount spent
on R&D in the economy in 2005 is set to reach ?1.9bn in 2005.
In a report entitled Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD), total R&D
spending in Ireland increased from 1.35pc of gross national product
(GNP) in 2001 to 1.43pc of GNP in 2004. This compares with a
European average of 1.85pc and the OECD average of 2.24pc...
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6017
Tech sector invests in education R&D centre
23.02.2006 - Industry leading tech firms such as Microsoft, HP,
Cisco and Intel have jointly invested in an all-Ireland centre of
excellence for ICT research in education that will be based at HP?s
offices in Belfast. The investment is being made in collaboration
with the Northern Ireland government?s pioneering Classroom 2000
(C2K) initiative.
The research developed in Belfast will be made available across the
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region and the centre will
work in tandem with new School Technology Innovation Centres
(STICs) in Prague and Jordan as well as other new centres that will
be established in Brussels and Johannesburg.
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6103
IBM establishes wireless R&D centre in Dublin
28.02.2006 - Computing giant IBM is to establish a wireless
research and development (R&D) operation at its Mulhuddart campus
in Dublin which will employ 25 people. The Wireless & RFID Centre
of Excellence will focus on worldwide asset tracking using the next
generation of barcodes as well as RFID (radio frequency
identification) support and consultancy services.
This centre will work closely with other IBM centres of excellence
worldwide and marks the second such centre in Europe. Currently the
La Gaude Centre in France focuses on showcasing the business
benefits of RFID through end-to-end live solution prototypes
...
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6116
Amazon to create 450 jobs in Cork
02.03.2006 - Online retail giant Amazon.com is to create more than
450 jobs in Cork in a new multilingual customer support centre. IDA
Ireland has been doggedly pursuing Amazon for the investment over
the past two years, competing heavily with locations in Germany and
Switzerland for the project.
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6128
Tech job prospects look good
15.03.2006 - Some 60pc of technology firms across Europe are
expecting to increase recruitment over the next 12 months,
according to new research. However, European technology
manufacturing jobs will continue to move from Europe and the US to
lower-cost locations...
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6183
eBay to create 300 more jobs for Dublin
15.03.2006 - It emerged this morning that online auction giant eBay
and its sister company PayPal are to increase their Irish-based
workforce by more than a third at its international headquarters in
Blanchardstown.
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6185
20m Georgia Tech R&D facility for Athlone
14.03.2006 - The prestigious Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)
is to establish an applied research institute in Athlone as part of
an IDA-backed ?20m investment. The facility will create 50 highly
qualified research positions within five years.
GTRI is the applied research arm of Georgia Institute of
Technology, home to the largest engineering college in the US, and
third among all US universities for the volume of engineering
research and development (R&D) conducted. GTRI Ireland will be
GTRI?s first research facility outside of the US.
Over the next five years the Irish operation plans to build up a
portfolio of research programmes and collaborations with industry
which will be valued in excess of ?20m and at full operation it
will employ 50 highly qualified researchers.
Applied research institutes specialise in translational research ?
the integration of technologies to prove feasibility ? where ideas
can be proven to have commercial potential. GTRI Ireland will
provide this capability and will work across multiple disciplines
and in partnership with industry to bring new technological
solutions to address the industry and market needs of companies in
Ireland.
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD
said that the investment by Georgia Tech was ?very much in line
with the Government and IDA Ireland?s strategy to develop national
infrastructure resources throughout the country outside of the
major urban areas.?
The Minister, who visited GTRI in the US in 2005, explained: ?This
initiative is one of a series, which includes the development of
competence centres and industry-led research networks aimed at
bridging the gap between academic and corporate research and is
part of the Strategy on Science, Technology and Innovation
2006-2013 currently being finalised by Government.?
Minister Martin said that the Irish operation will enhance
Ireland?s R&D value proposition and will work in partnership with
IDA Ireland to secure additional research mandates from
multinational companies. GTRI will utilise its relationships with
its US corporate partners to encourage them to establish
collaborative operations with GTRI Ireland.
Dr Stephen E Cross, Georgia Tech vice-president and GTRI director,
said: ?GTRI Ireland is an integral part of GTRI?s plan to develop
international operations and build long-term relationships with
industrial partners by providing innovative solutions through
customer-focused R&D.
?This initiative directly supports Georgia Tech?s vision to define
the technological university of the 21st century. GTRI is also
eager to collaborate with universities across Ireland to develop
the breakthrough technologies of the future,? Dr Cross said.
By John Kennedy
Leading academic warns of potential skills shortage
27.03.2006 - A leading academic acting as a liaison between Lucent
Technologies Bell Labs? ?69m investment in Irish research and
development (R&D) activities and the university sector here has
expressed concern that not enough students are opting for science
and technology courses at third level, leading to a potential
shortage of much needed PhD graduates...
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single6223
Warning of global technology skills shortage
22.12.2006 - Finding and retaining top technology talent will be a major
battle for technology firms in 2007, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC) report.
Businesses operating in the tech sector as well as businesses that require
IT people will need to employ the right management strategies to secure
vital human capital and keep them incentivised and motivated.
Technology companies around the world still have a long way to go in
effectively finding and retaining talent and in managing their human
resources to ensure continued success, according to the report.
The report found that although executives at technology companies understand
that human capital management should be their top priority, most say their
organisation’s capabilities in this area are lacking.
“Workforce investments represent a singular untapped opportunity for ICT
sector companies to drive financial performance,” said Mark Carter,
Partner, PwC Ireland.
“Technology executives must upgrade human capital management in their
companies and create innovative programmes in order to attract and retain
the best people.
“In Ireland it is critical to our ambitions as a knowledge economy to
increase our focus on such programmes and the Government recognises that it
also has a role to play in fostering initiatives which encourage the
development of qualified resources.”
Carter said it is too simple to say that the competition for talent is
intensifying. “It’s not purely a numbers game today, but rather a contest
for quality.”
A European human resources manager for a US software company explained:
“The number of applicants isn’t falling, but truly qualified applicants is
another story. Demand for the best is rising, so the number of qualified
applicants to his/her company is on the decline.”
To find new sources of talent, ICT companies have been forced to look
offshore in order to gain access to larger pools of talent. However, even
this resource is not secure with European and Asian executives anticipating
a severe shortage of talent within the next three years.
Nor is the talent gap shortage limited to developed markets, with 42pc of
all technology companies indicating difficulty in finding technical talent
in emerging markets and 48pc reporting difficulty keeping this talent.
In addition, emerging markets have experienced a rise in tech salaries – a
direct result of the intensifying need for talent. Compensation levels are
also increasing to a point where China and India are no longer necessarily
viewed as low-cost countries, the report found.
Carter explained: “While Ireland opened up the borders to nationals of EU
accession countries two years ago, employers in certain sectors believe that
there is still an insufficient pool of talent to meet their needs.
“The Employment Permits Act, 2006 is expected to go some way towards
addressing these skills shortages but whether these new arrangements will go
far enough to meet the needs of the ICT sector in Ireland remains to be
seen.”
The report identified weaknesses in the technology industry in areas such as
training for senior executives, career development and establishing
remuneration systems that are both motivating and rewarding.
“ICT sector companies have always had to compete for the best and the
brightest, but with an industry boom in many markets they are faced with a
looming talent shortage,” said Helge Benz, senior manager, PwC Ireland.
“It is no longer adequate for technology employees to have an advanced
degree in mathematics or the sciences. They need a strong drive to succeed,
a willingness to learn, collaborate and innovate and the capacity to manage
change.”
The report does provide some evidence that organisations are implementing
ways to improve their human capital strategies in various markets. Some
organisations are working with schools to enhance aspects of the curriculum
and encourage students to study mathematics and sciences in order to combat
the diminishing talent pools with these qualifications.
Others are looking in-house to better manage their best assets. Those
companies realising the benefits of managing their in-house talent are using
tools such as talent maps to assess their present and future talent needs,
worker engagement surveys, and implementing human capital metrics at all
levels of the organisation.
No longer are employees just attracted by the financial benefits of an
organisation. They are demanding innovative and interesting work and a clear
view of how their careers will develop.
Some 90pc of respondents said that developing and retaining existing high
performers is very important.
“It’s no longer a mere battle for talent. The real contest will be won
through the development of superior tools and strategies for managing human
capital across the enterprise,” Benz concluded.
By John Kennedy
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single7550