A recent survey conducted by Chambers Ireland has revealed that over 50% of small businesses struggle to fill customer-facing roles, while management positions pose the biggest challenge for two-thirds of medium-sized businesses. The survey gathered responses from more than 400 participants. Furthermore, an alarming 95% of micro-businesses reported having skills gaps.
Ian Talbot, the chief executive of Chambers Ireland, has expressed concern about the impact of such difficulties on businesses’ growth and ability to increase trade. In light of these findings, the results of the survey were released concurrently with the government’s consultation on critical skills and employment permits, which closed today.
“While the employment lists review does not cover this topic, our members are urging the government to streamline the permitting and visa process,” said Mr. Talbot. He suggested implementing a single application process for both permits and visas, as well as reducing the number of permits while broadening their scope, rather than introducing new classifications.
Mr. Talbot acknowledged the additional resources the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has dedicated to permit processing, but stressed the importance of coordinating these efforts with faster and more flexible visa processing within the Department of Justice.
“Our economy is experiencing difficulties in meeting demand across various sectors,” Mr. Talbot stated. He emphasized the need to make Ireland a more welcoming destination for talent, as it is no longer as attractive for migration as it once was. He called on the government to ensure that bureaucratic processes do not create unnecessary barriers to attracting skilled individuals. Mr. Talbot urged the government to promptly deliver on matters that are entirely within its control, without unnecessary delays.
As of July, Ireland’s unemployment rate stood at 4.1%, indicating full employment. The government’s consultation on employment permits began in June and aims to assess the eligibility of occupations listed in the Critical Skills Occupations List and the Ineligible Occupations List for employment permits. While individuals from the European Union or Britain do not require visas to work in Ireland, the rules impact recruitment from outside the European Economic Area.
The Critical Skills Occupations List primarily focuses on white-collar and professional roles that have been identified as posing a risk to the economy due to shortages of qualified personnel. The list includes occupations such as medical doctors, nurses, IT and engineering professionals, and specialized scientific positions. In contrast, the Ineligible Occupations List comprises roles explicitly ineligible for visas and is heavily skewed towards trades, manual labor, and clerical positions such as childcare workers, chefs, mechanics, horticultural and agricultural workers, as well as administrative roles in the fields of medicine, law, finance, and HR, as well as bookkeeping.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
