Northern Ireland urges graduates to 'C'Mon Over'
28 May 2008
There has never been a better time for graduates to explore Northern Ireland’s employment opportunities.
That was the message today from the Northern Ireland Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, who was visiting the Glasgow University Recruitment Fair, as part of his Department’s ‘C’Mon Over’ campaign. The campaign aims to encourage suitably skilled people to consider Northern Ireland as a place to live and work.
Speaking from the event, held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, the Minister said: “Northern Ireland has made huge strides forward in recent years. The progress which has been made politically and socially has been matched by expanding local companies and further inward investment. However the increase in the number of jobs being created, coupled with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the UK, means that employers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit people with the skills they need.
“With many of these jobs located in the communications, IT and science sectors, and too few choosing to study these subjects, employers are being forced to look outside Northern Ireland.”
A number of Northern Ireland employers also attended the Fair which included software company Openwave, pharmaceuticals company Almac, telecoms company BT and financial services company Citi, all of whom had a substantial number of jobs on offer.
Highlighting the importance of recruiting suitably skilled graduates, Sir Reg continued: “Ensuring that these vacancies can be filled by people with specialist skills and qualifications is vital to ensuring Northern Ireland’s future success.”
As a means to highlight the ‘C’Mon Over’ initiative to its target age group, the Department for Employment and Learning has embraced the growing phenomena of social networking. As part of a pilot, the Department has established a ‘Northern Ireland’ page on Facebook which aims to encourage a dialogue between those people interested in moving to Northern Ireland, those people who already live there and those employers who have vacancies.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The Department for Employment and Learning attended the Edinburgh Graduate Fair at Adam House, Edinburgh on Thursday 22 May 2008 and the Glasgow University Graduate Fair at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 May 2008.
2. Media queries to the Department for Employment and Learning Press Office on 028 9025 7872.
3. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.