Irish employees in demand for roles in emerging technologies

A new analysis of Ireland’s talent pool by Accenture has found that emerging technologies and sustainability are in-demand roles for Irish employees.

Accenture’s Ireland Talent Tracker assesses the skills of existing professionals and skills required by organisations across the nation. According to the data analysed, there are currently over 100,000 Ireland-based professionals with technical skills such as artificial intelligence, data analytics and quantum computing. There are a further 15,000 job vacancies currently advertised in emerging technologies, predicting further growth in the technology sector in Ireland.

Irish Employees in emerging technologies

The research found that the highest demand is for employees with cloud skills, appearing in 41% of all technology jobs advertised, followed by cybersecurity (21%), data analytics (18%) and artificial intelligence (12%). Other emerging technology skills like quantum computing, robotics, extended reality, and data ethics and responsibility currently feature in 7% of job postings combined.

Meanwhile, according to the research, around 40% of tech employment is located outside the Dublin ‘bubble’, driven by a growth in new tech hubs nationwide. Outside Dublin, the regions with the most tech job openings were Cork, Galway, and Limerick, followed by Waterford – with huge demand for cybersecurity, cloud and data analytics experts.

The Accenture study also looked at the rise in remote-working arrangements, with close to 12% of technology job postings being advertised as remote-based work.

Alastair Blair, country managing director of Accenture in Ireland, said: “As the workplace evolves, we need to regularly review how we are building and supporting Ireland’s greatest asset – our people and our talent. It’s imperative to help people build skills that can be adapted to what’s next. The pandemic saw many Irish organisations invest heavily in their technology capabilities, which means that they are now looking for professionals to help them embrace the next wave of change, with a focus on technologies such as cloud and artificial intelligence, and rapidly emerging trends like the metaverse.”

The Accenture Talent Tracker also analysed talent supply and found that:

• There are over 40,000 data analytics professionals in Ireland, the highest of all of the technical skills and representing almost 40% of the total technology professionals.
• Cybersecurity is the next most common skill, with over 25,000 people citing expertise in this area, followed by artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, data ethics and responsibility, and quantum computing.
• Irish professionals are rapidly developing credentials within sustainability, with over 14,000 people claiming to have experience here. There are currently over 3,000 job postings requiring skills in sustainability, predicting further growth in this sector.

Antony Keane, Strategy and Consulting lead, Accenture in Ireland, said: “The research shows that cloud computing skills are in particularly high demand, with the number of current open roles climbing close to the total talent pool with that skillset. Given the exceptional demand from employers, technology employees should consider upskilling or reskilling in this area. Similarly, global and local developments have put sustainability top of mind for organisations and individuals alike, so it’s not surprising to see that there is significant demand for sustainability-focused roles, and this is likely to only increase in the future.”

Ninety-six per cent of the jobs advertised by Irish employers are available across eight major hubs – Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Limerick, Waterford, Westmeath and Sligo. Two thirds (66.6%) of the technology and sustainability talent pool reside in these counties. Dublin has the highest demand for jobs in these areas, with 60% of the advertised roles based there.