By Clive Dunne MSc. Director, Elk Recruitment
One of the most misunderstood statistics in relation to today’s job market is the way manufacturing employment numbers are processed by the general public.
This area has become a sector requiring highly skilled employees as machinery and technology advances but many people interpret the change in traditional factory roles based purely on employment numbers. These often conceal that a skilled candidate can reap great rewards in the manufacturing sector today.
An example of this can be found in recent American figures which showed that in 2000, 53% of American manufacturing workers had no education beyond High-School level. When a new survey was conducted in 2015 it was discovered that this figure had dropped by 10% with the introduction of college graduates rising by almost the same number. This trend is being mirrored worldwide and offers the opportunity for new growth and potential for the skilled individual.
200 New Medtech Jobs Announced recently
The Medtech industry is one particular sector which is coming to terms with this realignment of manufacturing and new technology. Recently, Irish medical firm, VistaMed announced that 200 new jobs are to be created at their state-of-the-art facility in Leitrim.
According to Tom Kelly, head of the life sciences division at Enterprise Ireland, the Medtech sector offers a very bright future to anyone contemplating a career in this area as it already employs over 27’000 people and is continuing to grow.
Employees Hold Upper Hand
The great news for graduates is that they hold the upper hand as these changes continue. Companies are raising salaries in order to secure the brightest talent and added incentives such as career growth plans and opportunities to engage with more diversification within a company structure itself.
