Cabin fever: Job seekers hope to join the jet set
Such was the attention to appearance by the more than 100 people, you’d be forgiven for thinking some kind of X Factor auditions were going on. In the toilets, it was the same thing: one girl more groomed than the other: anxiously checking their make-up, smoothing down their perfectly pressed skirts and glossy hair.
But what would have made you suspect this wasn’t a reality TV tryout, was the sense of solemnity that hung in the air. None of these youngsters were laughing, giggling or flirting. Instead, they all looked as if their life depended on the outcome in that ballroom.
And for many it was. These young people weren’t getting giddy on the prospect of celebrity. Instead, like many other 20-somethings in 2012 Ireland, they were desperate for a job.
And so they got up before daylight to drive to Cork from Dublin, Galway and West Kerry for a chance of a job with Etihad Airlines, the United Arab Emirates national carrier. Some flew in from Poland and Spain, where their unemployment rate is even worse than here.
The jobs will be based in Abu Dhabi. Etihad, which employs 3,000 worldwide, already has 90 Irish staff on board but want to double that figure — at least.
Among the Irish at Little Island yesterday was 21-year-old Maeve Cronin, from Dublin, who graduated with a degree in geography and urban planning last summer. When she began her course, there was a shortage of planners here. In this country now, her degree is useless.
“Etihad are good to work for and also this is a great opportunity to travel. There is just nothing in construction here. Etihad do a lot of great research in bioenergy, so I’m hoping that if I get in there as cabin crew I might be able to move on to work in their bioenergy sector in time.”
Colin Flynn from Mitchelstown has been out of work since 2007 when, as a carpenter, he was one of the first to feel the this recession.
“I’m going for a cabin crew position. It’s very different to a building site I know, but if this doesn’t work out, I’ll have no choice but to head to Australia.”
Another 41 year old from Dingle, who didn’t want to be named, said she wanted to get away as “Ireland was depressing her”. Having no children or a partner, she felt lucky that she could just get up and go.
“I could stay here. I have a business that is still busy enough but I just think this is a great opportunity to go somewhere dynamic and new, where things will be so much more positive. There is such a sense of doom here. I think everyone is bringing everyone else down.”
