PRESS RELEASE
13 July 2009
Ireland now ranks number one in the world for access to skilled labour, according to a major new international study.
The Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR), which surveyed senior executives from 7,000 privately held businesses across 36 economies, showed that Irish business people believe access to skilled staff is the least of their worries (7 per cent) when it comes to expanding their business.
The survey showed that almost 40 per cent of businesses in the Netherlands and Canada found that a lack of access to a skilled workforce was preventing them from reaching their full potential.
Pat Burke, Partner at Grant Thornton said: “Ireland has a huge body of skilled workers available for work - this presents us with a huge opportunity.”
“However, we only have a short space of time in which we can take advantage of this asset.
“We will have to create employment opportunities fast in order to hang on to this skilled labour force – skilled workers are generally very mobile and will leave Ireland if we cannot provide jobs for them very soon.”
Nearly 47 per cent of Australian companies feel that a lack of skilled workforce constrains their progress. In New Zealand, almost 38 per cent of surveyed firms feel this way.
“Australia and New Zealand are two examples of countries that are being held back by their inability to fill skilled positions,” said Burke.
“They are also prime examples of countries where skilled Irish people are finding work at the moment.
“The Government needs to do everything it can to create a business climate that can keep these skilled workers within the country, otherwise we risk delaying economic recovery.”
The survey also asked businesses about the business strategies they are employing to maintain profitability.
The survey also showed that product innovation (19 percent), along with cost cutting (19 per cent), are the most popular measures used by Irish firms looking to maintain profitability.
“The fact that almost one in five businesses are choosing to innovate their way into the black should place even more emphasis on the importance of protecting our intellectual capital,” said Burke.
However, even though Ireland has a well-educated workforce at its disposal it still lags behind the European average for product innovation (22 per cent).
“Product innovation is one of the areas where Ireland needs to make serious improvements – it is one of the few tools available to Irish businesses that can have a huge effect on the bottom line.”
Access to finance, one of the major drivers in any economic recovery, was also surveyed in the report.
Asked whether they expected finance to be more or less accessible in the coming 12 months nearly 80 per cent of Irish businesses responded “less or much less accessible”.
This leaves Ireland hovering above only Belgium (81 per cent) and Thailand (89 per cent) as the most pessimistic in the 36 country report.
“The previous 2008 IBR report highlighted the importance of the availability of credit for the survival of private businesses in Ireland, since then the situation appears to have gotten significantly worse,” said Burke.
“The lifeblood of private business are things like overdrafts, working capital and short-term loans – unless access to such facilities are increased we risk double-digit increases in unemployment rates.”
ENDS