Companies in the south-east are hoping to fill 693 jobs in 40 firms by emphasising the region’s affordability to potential employees.
According to Elaine Fennelly, CEO of Crystal Valley Tech, the average salary on offer is €65,000 in what is one of the biggest cluster of tech companies outside Dublin.
Crystal Valley Tech, the representative body for the area’s 122 tech companies, is hosting a jobs fair next week to showcase jobs in pharma, tech and financial services as well as property and schools in the area.
“With the €500m urban regeneration of the Waterford North Quays, we believe the city and the south east is on the cusp of something important”
Back for the Future 2020 will take place in Waterford’s Tower Hotel on Sunday, March 15.
“We have a very vibrant and proactive collection of tech firms including Taxback, VMWare, TQS Integration, Unum and Glanbia,” Fennelly explained.
“Filling jobs is a universal difficulty in the tech sector, and the south east is no different – although we believe we have a lot to offer professionals.”
Affordability is what workers want
Waterford was recently named as the only affordable city in the country by the head of the State’s Land Development Agency John Moran.
“The cost of renting a house in Waterford is, on average, €1,100 less expensive per month than in Dublin according to the 2019 Q4 Daft.ie report, while the average asking price for a three-bed semi is €180,000.
The Crystal Valley area includes Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Wexford and Waterford and is the biggest economic region outside Dublin according to the Ireland South East local authority’s initiative.
“Waterford is a compact and navigable city with a growing retail and urban centre.
“With the €500m urban regeneration of the Waterford North Quays, we believe the city and the south east is on the cusp of something important.”
Cutting the commute
The CEO of Lismore-based TQS Integration Ger Finnin was recently named the world’s most influential data leader of the year by Analytics Insight magazine.
“TQS Integration has been based in Waterford since 1998 and has 126 people working all over the world, with 60 at our Lismore headquarters,” said Mr Finnin.
“The average commute is quite short, so people are not stuck in traffic and we find they have a better lifestyle as a result.
“And we work with them to make sure that happens by offering flexibility, so we have satellite offices in Waterford, Cork and Dublin and occasionally they work from home.
“The quality of people here is superb, and we find it easy to get good people from a skillset point of view.
Career opportunities for graduates
Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) and IT Carlow have played an important role in transforming the South East, through its teaching, research and innovation.
“This is particularly evident in the areas of ICT, advanced manufacturing and biopharma with the presence of global leaders such as Sanofi, Bausch and Lomb, Sunlife and Redhat/IBM,” said WIT president Willie Donnelly.
“Companies in the region provide career opportunities from new graduates up to senior executive level.”
More details on the jobs fair can be found at backforthefuture2020.com and a list of the jobs on offer can be found at crystalvalley.io/careers
Pictured above: Elaine Fennelly, CEO of Crystal Valley Tech
Written by John Kennedy (john.kennedy3@boi.com)
Published: 9 March, 2020
