Labour market participation at 49% male and 51% female in Ireland. Female participation at Senior Management level in Ireland at just 21% in 2012.
Ireland has laudable ambitions of becoming a global leader in ICT and it is fair to say most commentators think we are well positioned to achieve this.
In March of this year the Government published the ICT Skills Action Plan 2014- 2018 (Government, Education and Industry working together to make Ireland a global leader in ICT talent). This plan sets out the Government’s objectives of driving and growing investment and opportunities in the ICT sector.
ICT contributes €70 billion per annum to Ireland’s export performance and there are 44,500 job openings forecasted by 2018. All good news but how will these jobs be filled?
Ireland is home to global leaders like Microsoft, Oracle, Intel, Google, Facebook, Twitter and of course Sláinte, so it is critical that all of these employers feel confident that they are going to be able to attract and retain talent in Ireland.
The action plan is detailed and comprehensive looking at a range of measures in relation to education, work permits, conversion courses, promoting Ireland as a destination for high level ICT skills etc. However the fact remains that only 60% of the skills demand will be met domestically and female participation in the ICT sector in Ireland is an estimated 24%.
An obvious solution to addressing our skills shortage and achieving our ambitions outlined in the ICT plan is to increase female participation. A recent survey by Hays Recruitment “Women in IT, an untapped answer to the skills shortage” found some very interesting facts:
- 75% of respondents did not plan a career in IT and “fell into it”
- Only 39% of respondents had a computer science degree
- The 3 mains reasons for poor participation were
- Poor subject choices in education, not exposed to or could not study relevant subjects in school
- Work environment – better gender balance, unfortunately this is a bit of a catch 22 situation
- Culture – more flexibility and work life balance.
As an industry we must address the issues on all fronts and in particular lobby the government in relation to educational choices at an early age. The private sector has led the way with Coder Dojo and more recently Coder Dojo for girls, our educational sector needs to follow suit.
Current CSO statistics in Ireland show male/female labour market participation at 49% male/51% female, here in Sláinte we have an exact 50%/50% split. The good news for Sláinte is we are bucking the trend in other ways with a 33% female participation rate in Technology and a 57% female participation rate at Senior Management level. The International Business Report by Grant Thornton in 2012 identified female participation at Senior Management level at just 21% in 2012. Sláinte is an equal opportunities employer and embraces diversity but our positive numbers in relation to female participation, I’m sure we can all agree enhances us as a Company.
Oonagh O’Driscoll - CPO & HR Director, Sláinte Healthcare
Oonagh is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and is studying for an MSc, with the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in Strategy, Innovation & Change. Oonagh also holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from the University of Limerick. Prior to working for Sláinte Healthcare, Oonagh worked as HR Director in Canada Life for more than 17 years.
LinkedIn: ie.linkedin.com/pub/oonagh-odriscoll/10/b/23