Double-digit pay rises for Dublin fund workers
Financial services staff based in Dublin are in the grips of a pay and hiring boom.
A new study by middle and back office recruiter Joslin Rowe suggests Ireland's finance staff, many of whom work in fund administration and fund accounting roles, have seen salaries leap 16% in the first six months of 2005.
The study, which refers only to staff moving jobs during that period, underlines the strength of demand for and lack of supply of financial services staff in the Irish Republic. According to the Dublin Funds Industry Association (DFIA) nearly €900bn (613bn) of funds are now administered there, and this is rising at a rate of over 25% a year.
Paul Cotter, managing director of Joslin Rowe's Irish operations, says rising pay is symptomatic of staff shortages: "It's purely down to the development of the market here. A lot of jobs have been created and there's a shortage of talent: we need to entice people in."
Despite recent increases, Cotter says Irish pay remains insufficient to lure fund administration professionals from London. According to Joslin Rowe, a supervisor working in a portfolio administration role in the City can expect an average salary of 37,000 (€54,000), plus a 10% to 20% bonus. Their counterpart in Dublin can expect a €46,000 (31,000) salary, plus a 5% to 15% bonus.
In the absence of a flood of UK staff to fill Irish vacancies, Dublin's financial services recruiters are looking further afield with Eastern Europe a favourite hunting ground. Cotter says around 100,000 Poles are already working in Ireland. Matthew Doyle, a consultant at rival premier recruitment, says many are moving into entry level fund administration roles: "They are members of the European Union and they have valid work permits. A huge amount of Poles are being hired at the graduate level."
More will be needed in future. The DFIA aims to double the value of funds administered in Ireland in the next five years. Six thousand people are currently employed in the sector, and this is growing at a rate of some 15% per annum. Cotter says expansion is dependent on finding the staff: "The knowledge base hasn't been expanding at the same pace as vacancies have been created."
