Recruitment News
Supplied by The Examiner and Irish News

Electronics group in search for graduates 
by Mark Gallagher

THE Cork Electronics Industry Association has initiated a pilot project to redress the worrying shortage of graduates in the sector.

THE Cork Electronics Industry Association has initiated a pilot project to redress the worrying shortage of graduates in the sector.

The project, which has been established in conjunction with the Department of Education and Science, Cork VEC and the Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, will be holding an Electronics Information Day on Thursday, November 26 in the Blarney Park Hotel.

An invitation was sent out for a representative of each secondary school to attend, and thus far, the response rate has been very positive.

"One of the causes of this shortage has been the total lack of information available in schools to what actually goes on in the industry. This is something we hope to address," Willie Cunningham, Education and Industry Liaison Officer of CEIA, said.

Mr Cunningham's function has become important in the recent years, as the industry never had to advertise itself before.

However, given the current shortage, the need to liaison between schools and the industry is greater than ever.

"There is a need to promote the real worth of the industry to the localities, and to educate students as to what a career in electronics entails as that is also part of the problem," Mr Cunningham said.

Over 40 firms are affiliated with the CEIA, and each company have complained of the same thing; recruitment difficulties. The thrust of the pilot project is simply to get more people to apply for third level education in electronics.

The CEIA believe that it is qualified people in the hi-tech and high-value field that Ireland should be seeking and make more available, as other countries, particularly in the developing world, will be able to provide cheaper labour for production work.

The information day will consist of both interactive presentations by industry figures and also practical demonstrations of some of the activities undertaken by the industry locally which should help to increase understanding of what is involved in the sector.

However, the real purpose of the project is to ensure relations are built up between schools and the industry, so more students choose to pursue a career in electronics.

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