Updated / Thursday, 31 Oct 2024 

Despite waves of Silicon Valley layoffs, Ed Heffernan, Managing Partner and Technology Talent Lead at recruiters, Barden, says there is consistent growing demand for tech talent in Ireland

The tech labour market is affected by sentiment, as much as any other.  Layoffs by global tech’s ‘big five’ employers may create news headlines; but we are less likely to hear that, in reality, market flux is good news for domestic enterprise, or that competition for talent remains positive for experienced candidates, including from a remuneration perspective.

The large banks, (Bank of Ireland in particular, currently), are on a huge hiring drive when it comes to technology talent.  Larger financial institutions have felt the pressure from more agile digital platforms, and are upping their game dramatically, from a tech point of view.  Everything across the tech spectrum, from project transformation and software development to cyber-security and risk management, is in demand in the finance industry.  

Every sector, in fact, including private and public organisations, needs to transform to be future fit, as digital interaction, data and AI shapes the way we live.  How much of what we do on a daily basis is online; how much data does this create; and to what extent is the data used to ever-simplify digital engagement and to predict, shape, create and supply consumer needs and wants.

FDI Ripple Effect

Jobs-wise, what happened a lot in the past, and will no doubt again, is that big tech players enter the Irish market and announce significant recruitment campaigns.  Facing under-supply, they will temporarily inflate market expectation with elevated salary offers.   Existing techs will lose a percentage of staff to these new higher salaries, and, with improved candidate sentiment, will find that they too need to up their pay-scales to back-fill talent.    

The global tech companies in Ireland are a tremendous training ground, especially for graduate recruits and entry level positions.  FDI does boost opportunity, market sentiment, salary expectation and mobility. 

The 2023 downturn in staffing by the big tech companies, though, stabilised the market here somewhat, and freed up more affordable tech talent for non-tech companies. 

This made it a little harder to attract top talent from stable roles too, however.  Market confidence is more likely to prompt moving!

As Vice President of Ireland’s Employment & Recruitment Federation, I had an interest in the World Employment Confederation (WEC) global survey on talent planning, last spring.  Unsurprisingly, tech disruption was identified as a major challenge for senior private and public sector executives around the world.  Artificial intelligence was shown to be changing how companies think about skills needs and strategies, across most of the workforce. 

Recruitment Solutions

78% of employers say they are concerned that their organisation cannot train employees fast enough to keep up with technology developments.

‘Training’ is a significant reference here, with a crucial need for most businesses to invest in upskilling their workforce.  This too is served by judicious recruitment choices that will facilitate transfer of knowledge to the existing workforce.  Savvy hiring professionals are also looking to internal flexibility, using inter-department secondments of their tech supports, and, in bigger global groups, securing job rotations and talent from other countries.

Employers are increasingly looking to contingent workers for in-demand tech skills too.  The WEC survey indicated 79% are employing these workers with knowledge of AI and new technology as a means to spread understanding to employees.

Digital Acceleration

Ways of working and the tools we use constantly change.  This is the foundation of labour markets from time immemorial.  However, this change is accelerating in the digital age, and recruiters must stay ahead of the tech curve, anticipate talent needs, and seek solutions that will enhance business. 

There will be less demand for some roles and more for newer, proven skills, such as digital business engagement.

In our own recruitment sector, AI and tech supports are just that; supports that inform decision-making, provide easier quicker access to information, and, in some instances, support work like crafting written communication or scheduling tasks.

I’m not sure where I heard it, but I fully concur with the sentiment that ‘it is not AI that will take our jobs, but the people that master the use of AI, who will’.

Recruitment, like the majority of industries, is ultimately a human-to-human business, which implies technology is more likely to enable than disrupt. 

Many aspects of work are facilitated by technology, but many more elements of jobs and crucial skills remain quintessentially human.  Delivering experiences, collaboration, in-person communication and empathy, and creative problem solving, are just some of the talents that data-based tech will struggle to emulate.

For Information:   

SHARON BANNERTON ¦ Managing Director, BANNERTON ¦ Mobile: + 353 87 673 1100 ¦ Email: Sharon@BANNERTON.ie