JobsFair.ie

IT IS said that every cloud has a silver lining. If there is a 'silver lining' to the appalling recession we have entered, it is surely the realisation that our economic and employment policies must be much more closely aligned with the needs of the wealth producers in our society.

The Government has kick-started the debate by documenting in very clear terms the activities it sees as the main sources of our future prosperity.

These include innovation in software and telecommunications, biotechnology and pharmaceutical research, product development, engineering, financial services and food processing.

It is also in energy efficiency and sustainability in all its forms; it is in creating a radical step-change improvement in the thermal efficiency of our physical environment; in the energy efficiency of our transport systems, in harnessing our natural resources of wind and water and in radically reducing our reliance on imported energy.

I believe that over the next few years the Government will introduce the regulatory and fiscal environment to encourage greater levels of activity in these areas.

That being the case, we have a reasonable basis for forecasting the skills which will be in demand when today's school-leavers enter the labour market in three to five years' time.

There will be a premium paid for those with advanced software skills such as network architects. Forget about what happened at the turn of the century; that was a one-off and will not be repeated. We are already suffering from a shortage of people with advanced software skills and we are 'importing' people from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to fill vacancies in these occupations.

Of course, it takes time, in the form of study and work experience, to develop advanced software skills. But I would remind school-leavers that you are going to be working for 40 years, maybe more, and you don't need lots of money in the early stages of your working life.

Rather what you should be doing is 'positioning yourself' for a career which offers interesting work, social status and relatively high levels of remuneration in mid-life, when the kids come along and when it is important from a personal perspective that to feel you are engaged in a worthwhile profession.

Students should obtain a good third-level qualification - usually but not necessarily a degree - in an area which has the potential for further development, and which is expected to expand in terms of market demand, and in which you can develop a specialisation later in life.

So, for example, you could start with a degree in commerce and go on to specialise in compliance - an area which is expected to grow strongly - maybe acquiring some legal qualifications in the process. Or you could position yourself for a career in risk management and acquire further qualifications and expertise in quantitative modelling.

In the area of science and technology, you could begin with a technician-level qualification and obtain employment in quality control in, for example a pharmaceutical or medical devices company. There are many excellent employment opportunities in these areas.

Later in life, you could add-on a fourth level qualification (ie a Phd) and specialise in research and development. There will be an increasing role and greater rewards in our economy for people with fourth-level qualifications in science and technology.

Marketing graduates, who develop a proficiency in a foreign language or indeed in particular industrial products, will also have a distinct advantage in terms of employability.

And the benefits of pursuing this philosophy are not limited to those who acquire traditional academic type qualifications.

You could, for example, decide to undertake an electrical apprenticeship and, later in life acquire an expertise in software which allows you to design and install intelligent homes or indeed specialise in electronic security systems . . . or both.

The trick is to set off on a career path which offers the potential to allow you to develop a unique set of qualifications and experience in an area which is expected to expand strongly such as, for example, the areas I have mentioned. By doing that, by the time you arrive at the mid-point in your career the market will be chasing you, rather than the other way around.

Of course, we in the education and training system must play our part in developing the infrastructure which supports and facilitates the continuous development of the evolving skill sets which the economy requires.

We must also ensure that school-leavers fully understand the skills and qualifications needs of a rapidly changing marketplace and we must provide the conduit through which these competences can be acquired.

Fas Research Manager