Foreign graduates needed to satisfy Ireland's IT needs

A new report has found that the projected demand for information and communication technology (ICT) workers in Ireland will exceed domestic supply in the coming years. As a result, Ireland will need to look to overseas graduates to shore up its labour market.

The report, undertaken by the Expert Group of Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), an Irish think tank, suggested that a new initiative should be launched that would attract a greater number of overseas computing and electronic engineering students to come to Ireland to study and remain in the country after graduation. This initiative should include the "certainty of internships and graduate placements."

Ireland currently has an immigration scheme in place called the Third Level Graduate Scheme, which allows foreign graduates of Irish educational institutions to remain in Ireland and work for six months after graduation. However, EGFSN feels that the Irish government could do more.

"Programmes to encourage foreign recruitment and mobility between Ireland and other major ICT locations worldwide should also be considered to ensure the availability of highly skilled people for the industry in Ireland," EGFSN said in a press release.

"Our challenge is three-fold: we need to boost the supply of high level graduates, up skill those already working in the sector and continue to attract high skilled individuals through migration where necessary," said Anne Heraty, Chairperson for EGFSN.

"[Irish] graduates alone will not meet the projected supply of highly skilled computer electronic engineers and we will have to work to ensure that through re-skilling and migration we meet those demands," she added.

Heraty stated that Ireland has an opportunity to build on its reputation as a location for highly skilled ICT work.