IRISH recruitment company Cpl is looking to the Spanish market to address a shortage in IT talent in the north.
According to the recruitment specialists some Northern Ireland based businesses are having to turn down both local and international contracts due to an undersupply of skilled IT professionals.
As a result Cpl has launched a recruitment event in Madrid, an European regions with a strong technology talent pool. Cpl’s candidate event aims to highlight Northern Ireland’s strengths as a destination for skilled professionals including its standard of living and competitive rent prices which are significantly lower in Belfast than they are in Madrid.
Head of IT recruitment at Cpl, Myles McKeown, said lower rent and property prices, coupled with strong education and healthcare systems should appeal to talent abroad.
"We believe the onus is on us as professional recruiters to help attract the talent local company’s need. The IT sector, in particular, has suffered due to its chronic undersupply which is hampering growth and subsequent employment creation."
"Employers are telling us that more graduates are needed, particularly those with 'hard' computer science degrees and the Madrid region retains a talent pool of skilled IT professionals with two or more years’ experience which are most sought after in the market."
In Northern Ireland there are some 700 IT companies, including 100 international investors with over 15,000 people working in sector and thousands more using technology skills across a range of other businesses. IT is expected to remain one of the top sectors for economic growth this year, producing an estimated GVA per head of £51,900, 50 per cent more than the average Northern Ireland wage.
CEOI for Cpl International Áine Brolly added that steps must be taken address the IT skills shortage in Northern Ireland.
"Universities have taken steps to help ensure that our education and skills system is truly responsive to the needs of business but more needs to be done if we are to propel the Northern Ireland economy forward in the years ahead.”
