Expansion of work permits helps reduce shortage of key skills

Huge demand for workers in restaurants, hotels, construction and trucking. Colm Hilliard, of Workpermits.ie, talks to  Darragh Bermingham

The Government's decision to expand its work permit system for workers from countries outside of the EEA is helping to address skills and labour shortages in areas such as construction, hospitality and agri-food.  Workpermits.ie is helping people navigate the 16-week application system.

The expansion of work permit eligibility and impact of Brexit has put Ireland in a strong position to address skills shortages in different sectors across the country.

That is according to Colm Hilliard, director of Workpermits.ie, which works with both companies and prospective employees to secure work permits for people seeking employment in Ireland.

Established in 2018, Work Permits Ireland is a private immigration company with a team of highly experienced immigration consultants who have over 20 years’ experience in Irish immigration, working for clients from across the globe wishing to apply for an Irish employment permit.

The Government recently announced changes to the work permit system for workers from countries outside of the EEA in a bid to address skills and labour shortages in areas such as construction, hospitality and agri-food.

The changes include expanding eligibility for a general employment permit for workers in the construction sector, the removal of the heavy goods vehicle drivers’ quota and the expansion of the agri-foods worker quota.

Mr Hilliard said relaxing the work permit rules and quotas will go a long way to addressing skills shortages in the long term.

In fact, workpermits.ie have already seen a surge in applications for work permits in recent months, Mr Hilliard revealed.

“We would have seen, particularly in the last six months, a significant increase in all sectors,” he said. “The four main sectors that we’re dealing with would be restaurants, hotels, construction and the truck drivers. Right across those four sectors, there’s been a rapid increase in applications in the last six months because of shortages in the area.

“I’d say haulage is the biggest area at the moment in terms of applications given the shortages of drivers and the fact that a lot of businesses are relying on deliveries,” he added.

Colm Hilliard,  of Workpermits.ie, says Ireland in a strong position to address skills shortages in the country thanks to the Government's decision to expand work permit eligibility across selected skills categories.

“Deliveries have gone from vanloads to truckloads so we’re seeing a lot more truck drivers coming into the country. The restaurants and hotels are looking towards the 2022 season and to get someone here on a work permit will take a minimum of 16 weeks. That’s why we’re seeing a surge in that area.

“If restaurants or hotels start now, they’ll have people on the ground come March 2022 ahead of what will hopefully be a busy tourism season.”

Mr Hilliard also highlighted the shortage of construction workers in Ireland, and the surge in workloads for construction companies across the country.

“We’re hearing from some construction companies that they’re looking at a four or five-fold increase in terms of the number of projects coming across their desks,” he said.

“That highlights the need for increased skilled labourers in Ireland. There’s a huge skills shortage at the moment and huge demand for these workers.”

Mr Hilliard highlighted the impact of Brexit as a positive for Ireland in terms of attracting skilled workers.

“Brexit is having a huge impact on this — we’re the last country in the EU that speaks English as a first language and we’re a growing country,” he explained.

“Ireland has become the new UK in terms of the level of attraction to work here. The marketplace for employment is huge here in Ireland.

“There’s been a lot of recruitment going on outside Europe,” he added. “Companies have advertised in Europe for new posts and have received no suitable responses so they’ll expand their search.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time, companies come back to us and say they can’t find anyone in Europe after advertising. If you can’t find people in Europe, you have to expand your search and there are very highly skilled workers out there who are eager to come here to Ireland to work and live,” he added.

“It’s good for us and it’s good for them - it’s a two-way street. A lot of workers, especially those coming from South Africa, are keen to move to rural areas. That will have a positive impact on rural areas in Ireland.”

While the demand is out there for workers from outside the EEA, Mr Hilliard explained that the process to access a work permit is far from a sprint. That is where workpermits.ie comes in, helping prospective employers and employees navigate the system.

“This process takes 16 weeks,” he explained. “We act as the common denominator to get that work permit. We deal with the company in applying for the permit and we deal directly with the employee to verify their documents and deal with any questions they may have.

“We like helping people access a better quality of life and a better quality of work. We’re dealing with people who are circumnavigating the globe and arriving in a country they may know little or nothing about,” he added.

“They will undoubtedly have questions from where they’ll be living to things like school options and work for spouses. We’re here to help with that.”

www.workpermits.ie