Our predictions for Irish financial services recruitment in 2009

Want to know where the jobs will and won't be in Ireland next year? Here's our considered opinion...

2009 WILL BE A GOOD YEAR FOR JOBS AND HIRING IN....

Insurance

Towards the end of 2008 there were some encouraging signs for Ireland's insurance sector. Quinn Insurance announced the created of 100 jobs in Cork, with the possibility of a further 400 more by 2012, and insurance broker Aon said it was creating 100 highly-skilled jobs in Dublin.

Gerard Quinlaven, senior consultant at the Premier Group, confirms that insurance recruiting is hot.

"Demand remains high for business development underwriters, claims investigators, loss adjustors and well positioned corporate brokers," he says.

Paul Cotter, director of Cotter Personnel, says: "The market is hardening, which means premiums will go up and more money is up for grabs, so I suspect we will see a high number of business development roles next year."

Risk management

Since the Irish government put up €400bn to guarantee the liabilities of six of the country's largest domestic banks, it's decided to keep a tighter grip on them.

20 risk management professionals - attracting over 700 applications - were recruited by the Financial Regulator to oversee the banks this year. However, it also seems the banks are becoming more open to the idea of bolstering their own internal risk capabilities, and this is creating job opportunities too.

James Hayes, manager of the banking and financial services division at Robert Walters, says: "Over the coming 12 months the large domestic banks will be modernising and improving their risk management tools, which will see a growth in the number of roles created."

Energy

In the closing months of 2008 energy companies in Ireland were keen to recruit everything from traders to corporate finance professionals, analysts, accountants and compliance specialists.

Recruiters see no sign of this abating.

Helene Bergenstjerna, principal consultant within banking and financial services at recruiters Hudson, says: "Roles within the energy and commodities space are going to be a big growth area going into 2009."

AND 2009 WILL BE A BAD YEAR FOR JOBS AND HIRING IN...

Hedge fund administration

Globally, hedge funds lost $53.7bn in investor redemptions in the month of November alone, according to figures from EurekaHedge.

In Ireland, hedge fund assets are 55% of all those serviced in the alternative investments space, according to figures from Deloitte.

With fees for fund administrators dependent on assets under administration, it's inevitable that hedge fund administrators will therefore feel the strain going into 2009.

Some firms are already making moves to trim back in this area, according to the latest Deloitte Fund Administration in Europe survey.

Instead, there's going to be a renewed focus on conservative products, which will: "Require fund administrators who have heavily invested in the people and processes to support alternative asset classes to review and align their capabilities," says Brian Forrester, financial services partner at Deloitte Ireland.

Graduates

Spare a thought for the class of 2009. After years of financial services firms grappling over entry-level candidates, the well has suddenly run dry.

Two of Ireland's major banks - AIB and Bank of Ireland - either cancelled their intakes altogether in 2008 or deferred places until next year. Even the funds industry, which took in graduates by the busload is slowing down.

Sean Murray, director of marketing with University College Dublin's (UCD) Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, says: "Things have been tighter across the board in financial services recruitment for about a year."

Expect more of the same next year. Andrea Clarkson, manager of banking and financial services at Premier says: "Graduates are encouraged to offer a flexible approach in this market place as demand for non-experienced staff is likely to be very limited."

Private banking

Driven by the ever-roaring Celtic Tiger economy, Ireland's wealth enjoyed double-digit growth up until 2007, when it slowed to an increase of just 3%, according to the latest available figures from the National Bank of Ireland.

However, these words from Gavin Callan, head of wealth management at National Bank of Ireland explain why the services of private banks haven't been so much in demand lately: "The single most important driver of wealth in Ireland has been the increase in property values."

The bursting property bubble has dragged the economy into recession and Ireland no longer looks like such an alluring destination for wealth managers.

Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley have all entered the Irish market recently, but have put any wealth management expansion plans on ice, say recruiters.

Bergensjerna tells us: "Private banking has been recruiting heavily for the past three years, but I would expect recruitment in this space to be dead in 2009."