Bring on the Chinese
There are plenty of Polish people already working in Ireland's financial services sector. They could soon be joined by Indians and Chinese.
Why? The government is considering fast-tracking visas for non-EU financial workers to address the skills gap in the financial services sector.
Fast-tracking measures already exist for various occupations in healthcare, construction and ICT but this would be a first for Ireland's financial sector.
Given the shortage of Irish financial services talent, the move is being welcomed as a step in the right direction. Aileen O'Donoghue of Financial Services Ireland (FSI) last week called on the Government to radically change its immigration rules.
She said that unlike other sectors of the economy, the Irish financial sector needs graduates from outside the EU so that Ireland can access "key specialist skills" which right now are (very) thin on the ground.
Financial sector employment has grown by over 50 per cent over the last eight years, Aileen says, and is expected to increase by a further 75 per cent by 2020.
It won't be the first time a flood of immigrants has washed into Ireland's financial services sector. Since Poland joined the EU two years ago, it is estimated that 120,000 Polish people have flocked to Ireland, albeit not all to careers in finance.
The non-EU staff who find it easiest to land roles under the new regime are likely to have relevant experience, or to transfer internally within their company. The emphasis does not appear to be on junior staff: "Our migration policy makes it difficult to bring senior staff to establish new business here," O'Donoghue says.
