The latest Labour Force Survey from the Central Statistics Office showed, for the second quarter of 2023, the highest rate of employment since the current series of records began in 1998. Only 4.4% of people are unemployed.
While this comes as good news to many, for a lot of employers, it confirms the difficulty that exists in trying to fill vacancies. Full employment means less candidates available to choose from. Within our industry, we are all too aware of how hard it is in trying to find and hold on to staff. This problem has been ongoing for quite a number of years and the situation is not improving.
The sectors that showed the largest increase in employment were those working in construction and IT. The largest percentage decrease was in the sector closest to our own industry, i.e. the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, which recorded a 6.3% fall.
Just over a week ago the Leaving Certificate results were announced and many delighted students got their third level college places. Ahead of the results, colleges advertised their courses in local and national newspapers. Apprenticeship courses are also available and these are of particular interest to our industry as they include agricultural mechanisation courses. To be eligible for an apprenticeship, the applicant must be at least 16 years of age and must be employed by an approved employer.
As an incentive to make them stay, it might be worthwhile giving some of your employees an opportunity to further educate themselves by offering them an apprenticeship. You might have a promising up and coming employee in the workshop that you would be keen to hang on to. Offering them an opportunity to further education and skills could prove beneficial to you and the employee.
Another way of introducing potential candidates to your team would be to take on Transition Year (TY) secondary school students. Part of the TY curriculum allows students to get work experience in nearby businesses and establishments. However, the time given for the student’s work experience is limited to usually two full weeks or one day a week for up to 10 – 12 weeks, by which time another student can be taken on for the same time. The student has no expectations of getting paid, though some employers will give the student vouchers or gifts.
Taking on TY students is a good way of introducing them to an industry that they may not be familiar with and, who knows, they may even decide that this is the career for them. This is a long term strategy as the student will still have another two years of study left before sitting their Leaving Certificate exams. It might be an idea to approach the principal of your nearby secondary school to find out when the next school’s Careers Open Day will take place when you could set up a stall promoting your business as a possible career choice.
In the meantime, a lot needs to be done to address the shortfall in employing dealership personnel. We will need to think of unique ways of enticing potential candidates to our workforce while, at the same time, trying to hold on to them.
