The announcement by FireEye that it will create 150 new jobs in Cork is very welcome news. This decision reinforces Cork’s image as a centre for IT and innovation. The Cork region is becoming a digital hub with many leading companies choosing to locate here.

The decision by FireEye also recognises the high quality graduates in the areas of IT and engineering who are being educated by our third level colleges such as UCC and CIT. By educating people with the skills required by employers in the IT sector, we can continue to attract leading companies like FireEye, creating more employment opportunities.  I hope that the company will recruit locally from our highly educated and skilled candidates who are looking for job opportunities.

Not only will these 150 new jobs benefit those who are directly employed, there will also be a knock on benefit for other local businesses as this new workforce will have more disposable income and increase spending in our local economy.

Posted under Cork, Employment

High impact Disruptive Reforms and ensuring access to credit will help SMEs to create and retain jobs

The Action Plan for Jobs (APJ) 2013 will build on the progress made in 2012, by supporting businesses and removing obstacles to job creation, which will help get our people off the dole and back to work.

The seven Disruptive Reform measures included in the APJ will draw on the experience of senior industry figures to meet ambitious deadlines and have a significant impact on job creation. Ensuring access to credit for SMEs is also key to boosting employment.

Ireland’s jobs market is in a transition phase right now, where we are moving from the failed economy of the past, based on banking and construction, to a more stable and sustainable model which is based on enterprise, exports and innovation.  While the unemployment figures remain stubbornly high, there is significant churn in the labour market with new jobs being created daily.

The Action Plan for Jobs 2012 delivered on 92 per cent of the actions set out in the Plan on time. The APJ 2013, which was published today, outlines 333 actions to be implemented by 16 Departments and 46 Agencies before the end of the year and a similar record of success is expected.

The Plan contains a number of measures known as Disruptive Reforms, the aim of which is to have a significantly boost job creation potential for the people of Cork and across Ireland. Among them are the JobsPlus initiative, which will see the State pay €1 of every €4 it costs an employer to recruit a long-term unemployed person, measures to encourage Irish SMEs to increase their online trading activity and a plan to which will see Ireland producing more ICT graduates as a percentage of all third level graduates than anywhere else in Europe by 2018.

There is a continued focus on ensuring that SMEs can get access to the credit they need to create and retain jobs. In addition to the lending targets for the pillar banks being increased to €4 billion this year, the Credit Review Office, which overturns half of all credit refusals it reviews, is being strengthened and a public interest director in each of the pillar banks will have specific reporting responsibility on SME lending, as requested by the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan TD. By the end of the year €2 billion in new Government finance schemes will also be in place.

Getting the country back to work is the primary focus and biggest challenge facing our Government. By ensuring that all Departments are charged with responsibility for identifying the best way to create jobs, we will achieve our goal of increasing the number of new jobs by 100,000 by 2016 and getting the people of Cork back to work.

Posted under Employment, National Work

Fine Gael TD for Cork South Central, Jerry Buttimer, has today (Tuesday) welcomed the announcement that in 2013 Government is investing €20 million to provide free education and training places for up 6,500 people who are long-term unemployed. In Cork twelve different courses will be available as part of the MOMENTUM programme which has been launched by the Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn TD, and the Minister of State for Training and Skills, Ciarán Cannon TD.

“Retraining and upskilling are an important aspect of equipping people to re-enter the workforce.  Today’s announcement of 6,500 new education and training places will provide jobseekers with skills to access employment on areas of the economy where there are opportunities.  Creating job opportunities, particularly for the long-term unemployed, is a key aim for this Government. We are completely rebuilding what was a broken economy, and a crucial part of this process is ensuring that our workforce has the right skills to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

“Under this initiative, a huge range of programmes will be provided by 36 education and training providers in the public and private sector. They will be spread right across the country, and will focus on the expanding employment areas of ICT, digital media, healthcare and social services, the green economy, food processing and sales and marketing. In Cork, there are a range of twelve different courses available including Software Development and Testing with Project Management, a Certificate in Contact Technical Support, Warehousing and Logistics and in Business Process Improvement.

“The courses will be specifically tailored to meet the needs of the long-term unemployed, using international best practice to suit the Irish context. For younger jobseekers, a range of activation projects will also be available for those aged under 25 to help them get into the workforce.

“As a Government, we are determined to get people back to work. We have already seen some  progress in terms of employment figures; the number of people on the Live Register has fallen by more than 12,000 over the last year. Private sector employment is growing for the first time in four years, with thousands of jobs being created in the exporting sectors and in IDA-supported companies. We need to ensure our workforce has the right skills to maximise these emerging opportunities.

“Helping unemployed people access high quality and economically relevant training opportunities will help to turn around our jobs market. MOMENTUM places an emphasis on strong labour market opportunities including significant work placement as an integrated part of courses. Funding will only be provided for courses that supply needed skills, ensuring people are getting the training they need to get back to work.”

Additional Information:

Courses are free, full and part-time and are aligned to levels 3 to 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) or to an industry required certification within the sector. The projects range in duration from 11 to 45 weeks.

MOMENTUM is administered by FÁS and funded by the Department of Education & Skills through the ESF (European Social Fund) supported Labour Market Education & Training Fund (LMETF). The payment system to providers is outcomes based with part payment reserved for key stages of the programme, including challenging certification, progression and employment outcomes at the end of the programme.

Further information on MOMENTUM, its projects and providers and eligibility criteria can be found on the website: www.momentumskills.ie or from the any Employment Services Office.

Posted under Education, Employment