High-end production jobs on the increase

ONE of the country’s leading recruitment agencies has said lower skilled production jobs are being replaced by high-end specialist roles.

Sigmar recruitment said many multinational production roles migrate to Eastern Europe and the Far East.

“This mirrors the move towards higher end production and R&D developments over the last four years,” said Conor McGennis, manager with Sigmar Recruitment’s engineering division.

“2007 saw a very buoyant year for the broad engineering sector and this year the number of high-end positions available in the sector are still increasing,” he added.

Small and medium sized firms have been recruiting senior managers from multinational companies and their vendors in a bid to increase technical expertise and knowledge of foreign markets, according to the survey released by Sigmar.

“The local market in Ireland is still very strong, but it is imperative to plan for the future by looking into export markets in Europe and further afield,” Mr McGennis said.

A separate report released yesterday showed four out of 10 businesses are planning to increase their investment in technology this year despite a negative outlook for profits over the next six months.

The KPMG/Sunday Times survey found that almost half of businesses plan to maintain their current levels of spend in technology, with a third planning to invest more this year.