Dublin and Talent Attraction 23 06 12 wccp

Talent Attraction and Retention in DublinJamie Cudden – Research, Dublin City Council – representing the Dublin Regional Authority.Dr Brendan Williams – University College Dublin

Dublin Region

• The Dublin City Region is the administrative and political capital of Ireland and home to an estimated 1.26m people accounting for almost 28% of Ireland’s population

• Ireland’s population is 4.6 million (2011)

Dublin City Council

Dublin’s Universities – Dublin region is the leading education location in Ireland,

with 50 percent of all Irish university students and 63 percent of all PhD students.

– University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University, Dublin Institute of Technology

– Over 60,000 students approx – We have a system of free third level education– Challenge: Irish Higher Education Authority (HEA) warned

of a funding crisis among third level colleges. In the next decade there will be a 30 percent increase in student numbers, however this is despite large scale cutbacks by the government to the tertiary education sector.

– Decline in the international rankings of Irish Universities

Dublin Region• Dublin accounts for 39% of national economic output (47%

for the GDA)• European and international gateway for many multinational

firms (over 50% of FDI attracted to Ireland goes to Dublin)• One of the youngest populations in the EU with an average

age of 36.1 in 2011• Celtic Tiger Economy: 1990 – 2006 (top performing city in

Europe / 6th in world, 6-8% growth pa)• Now experiencing a major economic downturn / correction

(-14% decline in GNP since 2008)• Second worst metro performer – Brookings Metro Monitor

2011.

Ireland’s Economy• As of the end of Q4

2011 both Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product in Ireland had fallen approximately 14% and 9.5% respectively from peak values (end of 2007).

Unemployment challenge

• Unemployment in Dublin has increased from about 4% in 2006 to over 13% % in 2012

• Over 120,000 jobs lost in Dublin Alone.• The construction sector has been particularly badly effected• In 2006 the construction industry in Ireland represented 24% of national

GDP employing 1 in 7 people.

1998Q1

1999Q1

2000Q1

2001Q1

2002Q1

2003Q1

2004Q1

2005Q1

2006Q1

2007Q1

2008Q1

2009Q1

2010Q1

2011Q1

2012Q10

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4

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1614.7%

13.1%

Unemployment

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650 626.8

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Dublin Employment

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Rapid Population Growth in Ireland

• 1 million increase in population over 20 years.

• Rapid influx of international populations in particular from Eastern Europe (over 17% of the city population are non-Irish nationals)

• Dublin is now very much a culturally diverse and cosmopolitan city.

The Irish Context

1926 - 1936

1936 - 1946

1946 - 1951

1951 - 1956

1956 - 1961

1961 - 1966

1966 - 1971

1971 - 1979

1979 - 1981

1981 - 1986

1986 - 1991

1991 - 1996

1996 - 2002

2002 - 2006

2006 - 2011

-300,000

-200,000

-100,000

0

100,000

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300,000

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Changes in Irish Population (1926 - 2011)

Natural increase (births minus deaths) since previous census Change in population since previous census

Estimated net migration (inward less outward) since previous census

• 70 million people worldwide presently claim some level of Irish ancestry.

• 3.1 million Irish citizens (passport holders) currently live overseas

The Irish Context

19871989

19911993

19951997

19992001

20032005

20072009

20110

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Population Change Ireland 1987-2011

ImmigrantsEmigrants

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• From 2000 onwards: inflow of citizens of the new European Union accession countries

• Irish were returning home. Return migration of many talented and skilled personnel with the benefit of upgraded skills obtained overseas in the 1990s and 2000s.

Dublin – International Comparisons• Dublin is a small city in the international scale and we

certainly outperformed in relation to our size.• Mercer Quality of living (2011) places Dublin in the top

quartile (26th) ahead of cities such as San Francisco, Helsinki, Boston, Madrid and Seattle.

• The capital of a small island – open economy that is outward looking – exports are key

• 2nd most globalised country in the world • A hub for US investment: Since 1990 there has been more capital investment (189 billion) into Ireland compared to the BRICS combined.

Foreign Direct Investment • Dublin has one of the best track records for FDI in Europe. • ‘Best to Invest’ European Metro in 2012 • 2012 continued success – due to improved cost

competitiveness• A recent survey of Multinationals by the EIU – talent ranked

4th most important factor for locating in Ireland

Success in Foreign Direct Investment

– The 2012 IMD World Competitiveness results showing Ireland ranks first for availability of skilled labour

– The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Dublin number one in having the best “human capital” in the world.

– “75% of Google staff have relocated from overseas to work in Dublin” - John Herlihy, VP of Online Sales and Operations, Google Ireland

– “Competition for Foreign Direct Investment is significantly increasing and the availability of skilled labour is, amongst other things, one of the main deciding factors when companies are choosing a location for their overseas investments. The fact that Ireland continues to lead the way in availability of skilled labour -adds significantly to our reputation as a host for FDI” – Barry O'Leary, CEO, IDA Ireland

– Tony Wang from Twitter said that the availability of skilled staff and good technology infrastructure were among the main considerations when deciding on Twitter offices, but in Ireland the “friendliness” executives encountered was an additional factor.

Dublin/Ireland Attracting Talent

Twin Track Economy: Skills shortages– Despite recession, business leaders and government agencies have

highlighted that in some high-tech sectors there is a shortage of skills, with firms finding it increasingly difficulty to fill key positions

– Employers are having difficulties in finding suitably qualified and experience people in the areas of ICT, Engineering, Science, Finance, Health, and Sales. Skills in the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

– ICT companies are sourcing approx 55% of their high-level ICT skills supply needs through immigration. This is being done with increased difficulty as these skills are in demand globally.

– Emerging skills demands include; cloud computing, service design, database management, social networks and media, development of e-commerce applications and internet marketing.

– Big Data will require people with a deep expertise in statistics and analytics. McKinsey Global Institute Big Data Report.

The global challenge– Cities and Countries competing strongly for talent– Ageing Demographics will increase this competition– EU by 2020, 16 million more jobs will require high

qualifications, while the demand for low skills will drop by 12 million jobs

– McKinsey report predicts a potential 38-40 million global shortage of college-educated workers by 2020

– Failure to supply relevant skills is undermining the EU’s growth potential. EU digital agenda scoreboard . Surplus of ICT jobs; big trend towards mobile services and technology

– information & communications technologies (ICT) sector, which now accounts for 8 million jobs and 6% of EU GDP.

Research sources– Major research collaboration with UCD – ‘Dublin's

role in the national and global economy’– Over 35 interviews with top stakeholders in the

Dublin Region– ACRE project – 4 year pan European research

programme across 10 cities in the EU (east/west split) – testing Richard Florida's theories through interviews with transnational workers, companies and citizens.

– Recruitment Agency surveys (Manpower, HAYES)– LinkedIn Analysis

Factors Attracting International Talent– A survey of the city’s ‘creative class’ (2009) showed that individuals who

were not from the Dublin region were attracted to the region on the basis of ‘hard’ factors, such as employment availability, personal trajectories, cost of living and the transport infrastructure.

– The survey found that ‘soft’ factors’ e.g. cultural and social environment played only a limited role in attracting individuals to the city in the first instance.

– ‘soft’ living conditions may be an important retainer of Dublin’s creative knowledge workforce..

– Less than 5 percent of creative sector workers cited ‘soft’ consumption related factors as the main reason for living in Dublin. There were secondary factor in terms of the location of both employees and companies in the Dublin region.

– The critical mass of creative jobs in Dublin was an important ‘hard’ location factor in the migration of creative workers to Dublin.

– For example, migration of professionals from Southern and Eastern Europe to the West is motivated by the desire for higher incomes, a different quality of life and greater opportunities to develop an international career.

– ACRE, Making Creative Knowledge Cities Work, 2010

Skills: Current Context Ireland – 2012 Manpower Talent Shortage Survey ranked

Ireland as the global leader for the availability of skills and the least difficult location in which to fill talent.

Analysis

DCU DIT TC UCD0

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714 868 7961212

503428

818

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Dublin Class of 2005, LinkedIN

In Ireland Out of Ireland

Key Initiatives: Positioning Ireland as a World Class Research Centre

Increased Investment in R&D

Increased emphasis on STEM

Increased collaboration with industry

-Promoting commercialisationand start ups.

Developing a strong brand identity for Dublin

“Dublin operates in an intensely competitive world where increasingly it is cities (and not states) competing for investment, talent, tourism, international students”

“It’s not the cost of city branding: it’s the cost of not doing city branding.”

“A good brand and a good brand strategy will attract investment, attract talent, promote our exports, promote tourism (and) engage with the citizens”

Building on Dublin’s Brand Dublin – Unesco City of literature,

City of Science, 2012

World design capital Bid

Top tourist destination was the Guinness Storehouse with 1 million visits in 2011

- Popular tourist destination- 3.7 million overseas tourists in 2010

- 4 nobel laurets, Joyce, Shaw, Beckett, Heaney

- FDI success story

Best things about Dublin (as identified by people that live here)

• “Vibrant international city with a small town feel”• “Dublin has a buzz that others city's don't have”• “That it has the diversity and energy of a young and vibrant

21st century city”• “Compact city where you can see a city, a fishing harbour

and the mountains all in one day”• “It’s nice and compact so that where ever you go you’ll

always know someone nearby.”• “Lots of interesting people means lots of interesting events

and venues, and because of it’s size you hear about them and can get to them easily.”

Branding Dublin – Proposed Model

Destination Dublin Marketing Alliance

Dublin City Council Initiatives

– Office of International Relations. Promoting and developing international linkages. Attracting International Students.

– International students are increasingly sought after by cities for their economic benefits and as they are now seen as a vital part of a strategy to attract more talent. Dublin is a key location for international students attracting almost 60% of the national total. It is estimated that these students have contributed over E300 million to the economy

– Lord Mayors Welcome for international students and international student of the year awards. Welcome Desk at Dublin Airport

– Economic Development Unit which coordinates a regional economic action plan for Dublin and the branding strategy.

– Office of Integration, supports integration and inclusion across the city– Overall Quality of living programmes – public realm improvements,

free city wifi, public bikes, student accommodation etc..

Selected InitiativesDublin City University Generation 21 An initiative which aims

to equip DCU graduates with the skills required to succeed in the modern labour market. Enterprise focus.

UCD and TCD innovation AllianceSpringboard Education Initiative. In 2011 the government

introduced the Springboard Education training Initiative for people unemployed and seeking employment – over 5,000 places.

Coderdojo. A non-for-profit coding club for young computer enthusiasts, which was founded by a second level school student in 2010. It aims to establish a strong group of new young web developers and the medium term plan for the project is establish a dojo in each county of Ireland, as well as many countries abroad.

Selected Initiatives– Recognition of skills from abroad. The National Qualifications Authority recognises many foreign

qualifications. Ireland is part of the Bologna Process, and recognises the qualifications of over 29 non-EEA countries, including the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

– National Immigration policy and reforms. Reforms to the non-EEA student immigration regime.

Recent reforms have recognised the monetary and other benefits that arise from bringing overseas students to study in Ireland.

- Reforms to the green card system for skilled workers.– Finance Bill 2012, Special Assignee Relief Programme. Enables MNCs and Irish firms to attract highly-skilled, and on high

income individuals, to Ireland by providing an exemption from income tax on 30% of the employees salary between E75,000 and E500,000. This exemption is available for up to five years.

City Lab and Open Data– Test bedding the future in Dublin “To participate actively in making the Dublin region a leader in

innovation in the urban environment … through collaboration between private, public and research partners with the city region as a proving ground”

From the Vision statement for Dublinked, June 2011 (Open Data for Dublin)– The ambition is for the city is to leverage its high tech cluster and

universities to use Dublin as a ‘test bed’ to create and design new products and services. Through collaboration with multinationals, SME’s, universities and the not for profit sectors the city can position itself the city as the leading test bed for the development of innovative services and solutions that tackle city challenges.

– A focus on sustainable development and potential of the green economy e.g. the green way (a clean tech cluster) and the green IFSC.

– Through your family, friends and contacts, help us bring jobs to Ireland, and earn a reward for you or your preferred charity

Conclusion– Dublin has a history of emigration of top talent. We use

this to our advantage – power of the Diaspora and influential international links / returning Irish with international experience

– Attraction of talent is extremely important for Dublin, as the capital of a small open island economy.

– Tweaking of National Visa and immigration regimes are essential in attracting migrants, as global competition for the talent is already high, and will only increase.

Conclusion – Despite the extremely difficult economic situation and a

stagnant domestic economy, the area of the Dublin economy that is outward looking and export focused is performing strongly and continues to expand both in exports and job creation.

– The high-tech companies that locate here can find the necessary skills relatively easy when compared to many competitor countries.

– Despite this, skill shortages are present in some sectors – but it’s a global problem,

– it is important that both Dublin and Ireland create the necessary talent, or attract it, if they are to continue to be a world leader in FDI attraction.

Conclusion– Need to turnaround the economy. Three

quarters of the professional workforce in Ireland would consider leaving in the next three years if the economic situation does not improve (Hayes 2012)

– Ultimately have to create the right type of jobs – without these the future is bleak.

– Creating the right environment for start ups, mobile investment and nurturing the right skills.

– The need to collaborate across all sectors will be essential. City alliances and collaborations have to happen.

– Branding strategies will also form an important aspect of attracting talent, investment, tourism in a intensely competitive global context ,

Conclusion– Universities very much focused on attracting not retaining– Talent and skills challenge was raised in every interview– Need a rethink of how we teach from the bottom up. – What is the role of the university but funding is a major problem– Should they be producing graduates that are industry ready? – Too many city wide initiatives to mention – However the Quality

of living piece and place making role is critical. – Overall initiatives that benefit the residents of Dublin, such as the

promotion of culture and quality of life, will also serve to increase the city’s attraction to talented migrants.

– Public realm improvements, family friendly living in city centre, free wifi, public bikes schemes , transport connectivity, education and schools, public safety, lower costs etc….