Poles help solve talent shortage
A growing number of international workers are being absorbed by the Irish financial services industry, and in particular by the rapidly expanding funds sector.
"There's been a huge influx of Polish people in the Irish market this year," says Darren McCabe, recruitment consultant with Joslin Rowe. This influx has eased the candidate shortage in the financial services sector which was particularly acute a year and a half ago, Darren says.
The educational background of Polish candidates "would far outweigh" that of Irish workers, Darren tells eFinancialCareers.ie, adding that the Polish education system enables students to qualify with a masters within five years. In Ireland it generally takes four years to complete a degree, and if graduates then choose to do a masters, this can take an additional two years.
Paul Lynch of FX International has observed an increasing number of Europeans being recruited into the funds industry, particularly from Poland, and agrees that this is helping to ease the pressure in the market.
A recent survey conducted by the Dublin Funds Industry Association found that overseas sources of new staff for Irish fund companies included the UK, Poland, Luxembourg, France and the US. Other sources of staff included South Africa, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the EU generally.
However, some recruiters have found that workers from countries such as the UK or the US tend to go into accounting practices rather than the funds industry, and say that Polish people are the most common international recruits. "The salary expectations would be lower from the Eastern European market," explains Gary Lawson of Quest Recruitment.
