“With the shortfall of 5,000 high tech skills people today the colleges will not fill the gap and the worry is we will lose our competitiveness and price ourself out of the international software export markets. We will also price ourselves out of the FDI market as it is too expensive to hire here and the visas can’t be got quickly enough to bring high tech skills into Ireland. Ireland’s tech sector needs to attract the best of talent and become a hub for top tech talent.”
“If we brought 10,000 extra tech professionals into Ireland it would result in at least an additional €1,000,000,000 being spent in the local economy and generate tens of thousands of spin off jobs. It’s a game changer.”
“Tweekaboo (http://www.tweekaboo.com) is a start-up with users in over 100 countries looking to find the right talent quickly. We’re experiencing difficulties as there is an acute shortage of Engineers with the skills that we need. Any recruitment agency will tell you that there is a skills shortage. We need to speed up the process of getting the right talent working here in Ireland. We’re building a global business with Tweekaboo, so any worker we employ will ultimately accelerate Ireland’s recovery and the Tech Visa proposal is one initiative that would make finding the right talent easier.”
“Ireland has made great strides, through the 1990′s and 2000′s in development of companies that are indigenous innovators and that are producing products and solutions that contribute significantly to the Irish export growth. This export growth has fortunately been incremental to the growth of Irish multinational exports, because both are vitally important. The indigenous and multinational growth is fuelled by top class engineering, science and product development skills (both technical and management). Ireland can’t sustain this growth need from its indigenous population…Ireland simply has too small a population to support this growth.
“Ireland has attracted an enviable cluster of multinational technology companies in some of the fastest growth areas (e.g. cloud, gaming, mobile apps, digital content and social media). It is now imperative that we are able to offer the necessary skillsets to keep this ball rolling. Expanding the knowledge-based economy is critical to Ireland’s future and we must ensure that our initial success does not run out of steam, due to a shortage of personnel possessing the requisite qualifications.”
Barry Rhodes, CEO, INEX – Ireland’s Internet Exchange
“The Tech Visa is a cracking idea. It would help to strengthen Ireland’s position as a) a great place to base technology multinationals in Europe b) a great place to come to work if you’re in technology and c) a top destination for up-and-coming new tech sensations (Evernote, Rovio, etc.) It’s a no-brainer. We should do it.”
“The continuing and accelerating technological revolution is oblivious to the entrapment of the financial services’ crisis. It is evident that in terms of real ‘wealth’ we have never had the potential to be so advantaged, the mismanagement of the monetary valuation of that wealth can and should be separated as much as possible to avoid losing Ireland’s position at the forefront of these technological advances; Open Ireland’s tech visa (and what is represents) is the best current approach for that separation.”
“In a business like ours, getting access to the very best talent in the world without restriction is the only way we can upskill our team to make our formats compete with the top formats in the world of television, we can then build IP and export more and rely less on importing formats from around the globe.”
“The emerald tint may have waned on the world stage but we still hold the beautiful attraction. Now there is real opportunity to invest in Ireland’s future by reaching out to others who want to help. No doubt those who would fill our skills gap will find work elsewhere; they must live. However, here they can live and work to both our and their full potential.
That potential translates to more jobs which will be created from the presence of more talented and skilled workers from around the world. By allowing those with the necessary knowledge and skills the ...
We don't need money and we don't need much time. But what we'd like is to add your voice to our chorus on opening Ireland. Join the movement now, and if you'd like to indicate how you agree, or a story of how an Open Ireland would help you, your community, or your business, post a response in our blog.
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We do not need money and we do not need much time. But what we would like is to add your voice to our chorus on opening Ireland. Join the movement now, and if you would like to indicate how you agree, or a story of how an Open Ireland would help you, your community, or your business, post a response in our blog.
