Union highlights teachers’ emigration
Monday, March 30th, 2009Teachers are the latest profession to be in the emigrant spotlight, with the news that the Association of Teachers in Ireland has said that new teachers will be more likely to find work abroad.
The Sunday Business Post says that 2,500 to 3,000 temporary or part-time teachers would have ordinarily expected to find full-time work in Ireland; secondary school teachers generally spend between five and seven years before getting a full-time post. With cutbacks and an increase in the pupil-teacher ratio, however, there will be fewer jobs available to move into.
ASTI general secretary John White said,
So, your bright young person coming out from college will almost certainly be only able to get hours by filling in for people on career breaks, maternity or sick leave, or taking up the other half of a job-sharing position.That represents a very significant reduction in their standard of living and we are very concerned abou that. This is a very significant issue.
We are very concerned for them. It seems particularly sad as our teachers are in demand. From September, they will be going to work in England and other countries where there is a shortage of teachers.
Read the article:
Sunday Business Post: ASTI: Teachers may have to emigrate
ITLG founder calls for high-level outreach to Irish abroad
Friday, March 20th, 2009A group of high-level Irish representatives should be gathered to reach out to the Irish diaspora to assist in economic development, says an Irish-American founder of the San Francisco-based Irish Technology Leadership Group.
Tom McEnery, a former mayor of San Jose, is quoted in the Sunday Business Post as saying,
It is now time to assemble the best and most significant Irish representatives – like President McAleese, key government and Enterprise Ireland people, U2, Seamus Heaney and the Abbey players as well as certain chief executives – to help Ireland in these tough times.
If these representatves reached out to successful second- and third-generation Irish around the world, then a rich vein of relationships that could achieve real results would be initiated.
McEnry said that the focus of Irish outreach efforts needs to shift from the traditional centres of Irish-American power:
Politicians need to make more visits to Silicon Valley, where there are 700,000 technology workers – and less to Washington, New York and Chicago.
Silicon Valley is successsful because of the Californian government’s investment in universities, the development of a proper transport network via public-private partnerships, and the availability of capital to support enterprise ventures.
Ireland has good universities, but it hasn’t achieved the others to the extent that is needed, and that is where the focus needs to be now. Ireland has come a long way in the last 20 years, and everything that can be done now to sustain that must be done.
Related websites:
Sunday Business Post: Irish diaspora must be tapped for support
US-based tech leaders support Irish business
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009The Irish Technology Leadership group, a San Francisco-based group of technology executives, are eager to lend their support to Ireland’s economy, according to an article in TechCentral.ie.
John Hartnett, the group’s chair, told the publication that the Irish abroad can play a key role in dealing with the current economic crisis:
“It’s not just an Irish problem; it’s a worldwide problem. Ireland needs to reach out to each part of the diaspora that can help it to be successful.”
The ITLGis comprised of 500 members, all at executive and CEO level. The group is hosting an event in Silicon Valley this month that will bring six firms selected at its “Siclicon Valley comes to Ireland” event in November to meet with senior executives from US-based businesses.
The ITLG is working with the IDA and Invest NI to better compete in Silicon Valley. The article says:
Ireland is going to have to compete in a different way. The first thing is to get the brand right,” he argues, by positioning Ireland as a high-value country and an innovator on the leading edge of technology.”Inward investment is hugely imporant, but we must stand on two legs and make Irish companies multi-million firms. Israel ahs 66 companise listed on Nasdaq; Ireland has four. We have got to be able to compete up the food chain and up the value chain. “
Hartnett also says that the group is encouraging Irish politicians to meet with industry leaders in the valley, and assisting government and educational institutions to understand how to innovate and win business more successfully.
The ITLG is hosting its Silicon Valley Awards 2009 ceremony on 14 April at Stanford University in California, with Tanaiste Mary Coughlan as keynote speaker.
Related links:
- Need to accelerate quest for Ireland, Inc. (TechCentral.ie)
- Irish Technology Leadership Group
- Speech by Taoiseach at “Silicon Valley Comes to Ireland” meeting at Trinity College, November 2008
US news report highlights disillusionment of returned emigrants
Monday, March 9th, 2009The disillusionment of Irish emigrants who moved back home to take part in Ireland’s booming economy has been featured in on the CBS Evening News in the US.
The three emigrants profiled include Brendan Landers, who wrote of his disappointment after returning from Canada in the Irish Times last month. He said that his website got over 7,000 hits after the article appeared. Of his fellow returned emigrants, he said, “what they’d been feeling is basically a disappointment with our country”.
Ed Neale returned from Holland, where he was studying architecture, but returned to find the jobs had dried up. “It was really a blip in the nation’s history,” he said. “You know, we are traditionally a very poor country. We’re a nation of emigrants and those times are coming back.”
Marina Giblin gave up her job in banking in San Francisco to raise her four-year-old daughter near family in Dublin. “The reality of it is we partied very hard and we forgot there would be a hangover.” When asked if she’d leave again, Giblin replied, “If I have to go, I’ll go. Yeah, I will.”
Watch the video:
See more on the CBS news website.
Irish emigrants make 1.7 million trips home annually
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009Irish emigrants make 1.7 million journeys home every year, according to Garret Fitzgerald. The former Taoiseach made the statement in an article highlighting the extraordinary nature of Irish foreign travel.
He highlights the following facts:
- In 2007, Irish people made 7.7 million trips abroad.
- Ireland attracts 4.5 million tourist a year.
- There are one million business visits.
- A total of 15 million round trips are made to and from Ireland every year.
Read the entire article on the Irish Times website.
Where can job seekers go now? asks Indo
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008As talk of emigration rises, the question of where Irish people can go to find work is of increasing relevance. An article in this weekend’s Irish Independent suggests any move should be made with caution. The newspaper notes that economic forecasts for traditional emigrant destinations are bleak, and with increasing mobility of other nationalities, Irish job-seekers may find increasing competition abroad.
The newspaper takes an international rundown:
Australia - the number of Irish people seeking to emigrate to Australia has increased dramatically, but the labour shortages of a year ago appear to be ending, and redundancies are increasing. The unemployment rate is currently 4.4%, but rising.
Canada - Canada’s economy has been strong, but its November job losses totaled 71,000, the highest number of layoffs in a single month in 25 years. The west of the country remains in better shape.
US - Even those who are legally entitled to emigrate may find the US tough going right now – more than a half-million people lost their jobs last month, the highest number since December 1974.
The Middle East – Dubai looks like its economy is faltering due to overspeculation, but there remain openings in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi for such professionals as engineers, architects and accountants.
Eastern Europe – One report says that there will be strong growth in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic. While many Polish expats are returning home to take up new opportunities in its growing economy, there are good jobs available even for those who don’t speak Polish. While wages are low, so is the cost of living.
Related article:
Irish Independent: Emigration once again – but where can our young job-seekers go now?