In November 2024 the twentieth edition of the National Skills Bulletin was published. The Skills and Labour Market Research Unit in SOLAS are responsible for producing these reports. In the Executive Summary the authors note that “It presents an overview of the Irish labour market at occupational level.” And that it “aims to assist policy formulation in the areas of employment, education/training, and immigration (particularly the sourcing of skills which are in short supply in the Irish and EU labour market from the EEA); it also aims to inform career guidance advisors, students and other individuals making career and educational choices.”
In this article we will focus in on the skills shortages identified under the heading Occupational outlooks and shortages; the Job Vacancy Rate; and the people who were unemployed and their occupations.
The skill shortages identified in the science & engineering occupations include:
- Analytical, process, and medical scientists;
- Quality control / assurance, process, and design engineers;
- mechanical, electrical, automation engineers; and,
- Maintenance / lab technicians.
A lack of software developers / engineers, and IT analysts / engineers in the ICT Occupations is noted. In the Healthcare Occupations the skills shortages include medical practitioners and nurses. In the Education Occupations the skills shortages are in particular subjects at secondary school level.
In the Social & Care Occupations they not only note a skills shortage i.e. healthcare assistants, but also a labour shortage i.e. care workers. In the Construction Occupations they highlight current skills shortages and potential future ones: the former include civil engineers & construction project managers, and quantity surveyors; and the latter plumbers and carpenters.
In the Other Craft Occupations, the skill shortages noted were welders / fabricators, and CNC programmers. In the Hospitality Occupations chefs were the skill shortage identified; while in the Transport & Logistics Occupations it was HGV drivers, Bus and coach drivers.
In the chapter on Vacancies, they explore the Job Vacancy Rate, using the data from the EHECS. In a footnote they note that “The job vacancy rate, as detailed in the CSO Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey (EHECS), measures the proportion of total posts that are vacant as a proportion of total occupied posts combined with job vacancies.” (p116)
In Figure 9.2 they look at the Job Vacancy Rate (%) by Sector in three quarters: Quarter 4 2018, Quarter 4 2022, and Quarter 4 2023: one quarter before Covid-19, one emerging from, and one a year later. The variation across these time periods and occupations is interesting, with the higher rates of vacancies across the public sector striking.
In the Bulletin the authors note that “In quarter 4 2023, there were 24,700 vacancies reported, representing a job vacancy rate of 1.1%.”
In the chapter on Unemployment, they state that “Those previously employed in managerial or professional occupations consistently had the lowest unemployment rate for each of the years over the period examined. In 2023, the unemployment rate for this group was 1.6% (on a par with the rate observed in 2022, but marginally above the rate in 2019). In contrast, those previously employed in operative or elementary occupations and sales or services occupations had the highest unemployment rates observed over the period 2019 to 2023. In 2023, the unemployment rate for both of those occupational groups was similar (at or close to 4%). Over the period 2019 to 2022, those previously employed in operative or elementary occupations had the highest unemployment rate, rising from 4.8% in 2019 to 7.8% in 2021, but declining to 4.5% in 2022 (modestly above the unemployment rate observed for those previously employed in sales or services occupations, at 4,2%).” (p81)
Figure 6.8 shows the breakdown by occupation of unemployed people in 2023. People who previously had no occupation and people who had been operatives or in elementary employment account for 55% of the people unemployed.
Amongst the issues the INOU raised in our General Election Manifesto was a call to “Ensure unemployed people and other people distanced from the labour market are properly supported to take up meaningful education and training options”; and another to “Support people to explore new or expanding job opportunities.” The picture emerging from the National Skills Bulletin 2024 demonstrates how important it is to answer these calls for action, and to create an inclusive labour market.