Tech on the Wild Atlantic Way, Thomond Park, Feb 1

Tech and biotech roles and salaries on offer in the Midwest are now ‘on a par with Dublin’

• ‘Tech on the Wild Atlantic Way’ Career Zoo event at Thomond Park on February 1 aims to lure families and individuals to the region
• Hundreds of well-paid sci-tech and aviation positions and buzzing tech scene available for people seeking to accelerate their career in 2020
• Cost of living and better work life balance attracting people to cities outside Dublin

Limerick and the Midwest offer tech and biotech workers careers and salaries that are at least on a par with those available in Dublin, the organisers of a recruitment event taking place next week at Thomond Park have said.

With the added bonus of a better work/life balance and more affordable housing, job seekers are now in the position to choose from hundreds of open roles in Limerick and the Midwest with some of the world’ most innovative employers.

“Tech on the Wild Atlantic Way” is a major tech, biotech and aviation recruitment event hosted by career specialists Career Zoo. It aims to pair sci-tech employers with world class STEM talent who are interested in building a new career in the Midwest.

The organisers say they recognise that people tend to question their working and living situations when a New Year dawns.

Companies and organisations attending include Jaguar Landrover, WP Engine, IDA Ireland, FRS Recruitment, Lero (The Irish Software Researh Centre), Knime, Edwards Lifsciences, Zimmer Biomet, Fiserv, Ocuco, Python Ireland, Julia Computing, Glass Lewis, SES, the International Aviation Services Centre (IASC) and Shannon Chamber.

Keynote speakers will include aeronautical engineer Dr Norah Patten, member at the International Space University who hopes to become Ireland’s first astronaut, and Dr Fiona Edwards Murphy, CEO and Co-founder of ApisProtect, which is deploying technology to save the world’s bees.

The Midwest is fast becoming a go-to location as its tech scene continues to grow with major multinationals and Irish companies setting up in Limerick and Shannon. In addition, the region boasts a booming aviation-industry sector with hundreds of career opportunities.

The Thomond Park event will have a special focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) – the event was launched at the Jaguar Land Rover offices in Shannon, where the use of AI in smart driving is being developed.

Offering the enticing benefits of shorter commutes, higher take home pay, relatively low housing costs (housing is up to 52% cheaper than Dublin) and a well-established sci-tech ecosystem, the Midwest recruitment event is expected to attract over 2,000 STEM professionals and over 50 tech, bio tech and aviation companies.

A specially commissioned private 2020 Tech Train will be delivering talent from Heuston, Dublin to Limerick for the event.

As well as featuring keynote speakers from leading tech companies in the region and a variety of presentations from 50+ employers, the event will feature two intriguing workshops – a Why R? Mini Conference and a Data Science Learnathon.

Bringing together speakers, coders, and R enthusiasts from across Ireland, for a day of talks and workshops, the Why R? Mini Conference will explore, share and inspire ideas about the use of R, the programming language for statistical computing and graphics. The Data Science Learnathon will blend a workshop about the data science cycle with a hackathon where people will work in groups to hack a workflow-based solution to guided exercises.

This recruitment event will be building on the success of recent Career Zoo events in Sligo, Athlone and Waterford. Commenting, Career Zoo Director Brian Ó hOisín said:

“This is a time of year when people consider what they want to do with their lives.  Do they want to continue living and working in Dublin, which is becoming less and less human friendly, or are they willing to embrace something entirely new? There has been a perception in the past that moving out of Dublin entails sacrifice – that your salary or quality of work might not be as high – but that is no longer the case.

“The Midwest now offers a better alternative to Dublin. It offers the best companies, the best technology and the most exciting work in STEM-related sectors with the added benefit of affordable housing and a better work/life balance. This high-energy event will showcase the best sci-tech and aviation opportunities in the Midwest and surrounding regions.”

Jaguar Land Rover Ireland General Manager John Cormican said: “There are so many opportunities for STEM talent in this region, Career Zoo’s ‘Tech on the Wild Atlantic Way’ is set to be an exciting event, and we look forward to taking part.”

Commenting, Will Corcoran, Midwest Development Manager, IDA Ireland, said: “The Midwest is a vibrant and dynamic region and with substantial Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in recent year. There are great opportunities here for local, national and international talent. There is a great ecosystem here working together with a high level of collaboration across academia, government, industry, and research institutes.”

Career Zoo is also excited to announce a partnership with the International Aviation Services Centre (IASC), a Shannon Group brand developed to promote the growing aviation cluster at Shannon  John Drysdale, Business Development Manager, IASC, said the region was home to more than 80 aviation related businesses operating in the fields of aircraft leasing and finance, maintenance and repair, airworthiness and fleet management. He added: “We see significant opportunities within aerospace engineering-related activities like R&D, aero-manufacturing and innovative technology.”

At the event, employers will be able to brief job seekers face-to-face on a string of vacancies across a range of roles including IoT, AI, Aviation, R&D, Pharma, Medtech, Fintech, Data, Back-end, Front-end, Cyber, VR, AR and DevOps. There will also be workshops featuring sci-tech leaders, as well as panel discussions and lightning talks from participating employers. This will be followed by an after party featuring rugby and refreshments.

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