With the emergence of new technologies like HTML5 and the substantial developments in the IT sector, the jobs market is constantly changing with demand. Heavy hitters like Twitter, Facebook, Google, Zynga, LinkedIn, PayPal, Amazon and ebay have followed established tech companies (Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Apple and HP) to Ireland which has a large knock on effect on the jobs market.
Currently, there is a shortage in supply of qualified and experienced candidates across many areas of the industry including software engineering, web development, database administration, security and project management from junior, graduate roles to the more senior levels.
Software development is an area in which we feel clients are straining to fill vacant roles. Anyone with qualifications in C++, Java development, J2EE, .Net, HTML5, JavaScript, Php, J2ME, OOP, Python, Flex, AJAX and Silverlight is highly sought after. For many people, this may be a confusing list of letters, numbers and symbols but for candidates with experience in these areas, this list provides significant opportunities.
Software Engineering Qualifications
If you’re thinking about a career change, up-skilling, or maybe you’re trying to decide what to pick in the CAO, there are quite a few options out there that will help you get into this fast paced technology sector.
In terms of undergraduate courses, UCD, DIT and Trinity all operate reputable computer science courses. For those outside of Dublin, Galway and Cork institutes both have strong undergraduate degrees and students who are just finishing their studies are in high demand due to a lack of graduates in the last quarter.
Postgraduate/up-skilling/cross-training course providers include the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, Trinity and DIT. NUI Galway offers a renowned Msc. in Software Engineering and Database Technologies and UCD’s MSc. In Advanced Software Engineering is another course high on the list of companies looking to hire. It should be noted that the technology institutes provide students with practical experience and placements in the relevant technologies, a significant benefit to taking these courses.
The future of Software Engineering in Ireland
As our need to access technology on the move increases and the use of desktops and PCs slow, many companies are striving to create mobile rich content. As a result, mobile architects who can provide this service on Android, iPhone and Blackberry platforms are going to be in high demand in the coming months.
Gaming technologies like cloud based gaming, F2P (Free2Play), social media & subscription games and online gambling are also getting a lot of attention in Ireland which will translate into large demand for those with experience and qualifications in these areas.
Investment & Job Creation
There is continued FDI investment in the Irish IT industry. Last week, VMware, a global player in virtualisation and cloud infrastructure, announced the opening of a major new office in Ballincollig, Co Cork, adding 250 new jobs to the 550 existing jobs across two sites. Bioware announced 200 jobs in Galway and said it ‘had considered other locations, but chose Ireland because of a steady supply of high quality recruits with the necessary skills for the roles.’ HCL Technologies also announced that they would be creating 80 jobs as a result of the ‘rapidly growing’ demand for IT service in Ireland combined with the ‘highly educated’ Irish workforce. Finally, SolanoTech – an Irish company, recently announced 25 new jobs in Athlone. Dun & Bradstreet is to add 75 jobs in Sandyford, Dublin and both Accenture and Aon have announced plans to create a combined total of 200 jobs in their newly created data analyst centres.
If all of these opportunities didn’t make you think that the IT industry in Ireland was a solid career choice; watch this (very) feel good video created by Enterprise Ireland.
