DCU survey shows 42% increase in IT job vacancies in one year
- 24 May 2006

The latest DCU jobs survey shows that the number of Irish IT job advertisements on the World Wide Web is now greater than 13,400 – an increase of 42% in the past year.

Adjusted to reflect jobs available now, this corresponds to 11,000 job vacancies in the sector, up from over 8,000 a year ago.

The jobs cover a wide spectrum, including roles such as Web Developer, Senior Software Engineer, Embedded Software Developer, Systems Analyst, IT Project Management, IT Sales, and Technical Support. Some of them require a number of years prior experience, others are available for recent college graduates. The variety of activities involved reflects the growing importance of IT to all aspects of the economy.

It’s not just Ireland. In the USA, CNN’s Money Magazine recently rated ‘Software Engineer’ as the best job, based on factors such as growth prospects, choice of work, and salary.

The jobs here will be filled by graduates from abroad rather than by Irish graduates. The numbers applying to study computing still have not recovered from the sharp decline after the dot com bubble.

Leading commentator on IT, DCU Professor Michael Ryan says: “Somehow students are not getting the picture. They seem stuck on the dot com fiasco, now ancient history in this business. They should be looking at the future, where everything from entertainment to medical care to management will involve computers and software. The opportunities are vast. People with imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit who understand the technology are going to do extremely well”

Mr Noel Ahern TD, Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal will open the display of final year projects at 8am on Friday 26th May in DCU. A sample of the 74 projects is attached.

The Government’s Expert Skills Group’s projected demand for computing graduates in 2010, when this year’s college entrants will be graduating, is already seen by industry sources as an underestimate. The Group predicted a shortfall of between 1,217 and 2,313 in the supply of graduates in 2010, but the gap is expected to be significantly larger. It will be made up by graduates from abroad, and already there have been Government initiatives aimed at facilitating work permits for those coming into the sector.

Professor Ryan : “Part of the turn away from computing courses is due to a lack of understanding of what is involved. It’s a far cry from the image of the ‘nerd’ hunched over a computer keyboard – you are more likely to find our graduates managing their own companies, or acting as consultants or senior technical managers. The technology crops up everywhere, so computing students acquire a broad foundation across a range of application areas. They develop abilities in critical thinking, in problem solving, organization, and management as well as an understanding of the technology, and have many career paths available to them.”

Another factor may be the move to advertise computing jobs on the WWW, rather than in the traditional newspaper job sections. This can give the impression that the number of jobs available is far fewer than is actually the case.

Whatever the reasons for the decline in student interest, the sector in Ireland is clearly developing strongly, and needs more well-qualified people. The future is exciting. As Prof. Ryan says “ when it comes to computing, we have seen nothing yet”.

ENDS