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Manufacturing & Engineering Jobs - Market Overview 2019

Thoughts on the Market The manufacturing and engineering Sector in Ireland employs over 200,000 people directly (400,000 indirectly). It is estimated that over 43,000 more people could be working directly in manufacturing in Ireland by 2020. This sector contributes hugely to employment across all skill levels, in all regions throughout the country and across a range of sectors including medical devices, pharma/biopharma, food, ICT/electronics and engineering. Manufacturing plays a crucial role in Ireland’s economy, but it is rapidly changing and becoming more complex meaning a different set of capabilities will be required. In terms of sectors - as a whole, the medical technology industry is estimated to be worth somewhere between €173-193 billion and Ireland is the second biggest exporter of medical technology in Europe with giants like Boston Scientific and Medtronic employing 5,200 and 4,500 respectively in Ireland alone. The main area of expertise lies in the cardiovascular area (Abbott, Medtronic and Boston) but there are a host of orthopaedic (J&J and Stryker) and diagnostic manufacturers such as Beckman Coulter. According to the IDA, Ireland’s MedTech sector manufacturers 50% of ventilators used in acute hospitals worldwide, 33% of the world’s contact lenses and 30 million people with diabetes use Irish-made injectable devices. Advances in science and technology sees the rise of combination products particularly with pharma and ICT. The rise of the “Smart Device” has prompted a significant increase in the demand for niche skillsets. Similarly, to changes within medical device manufacturing, the pharma/biopharma sector has shifted towards healthcare that is tailored to the specific needs of the patient. Targeted therapeutic interventions has led to the growth of innovative delivery mechanisms, niche products targeting specific or rare illness/diseases and an increase in biologics. Ireland is also a host to a number of global players in the ICT manufacturing sector including Intel, Dell, TE Connectivity, Analog Devices and Valeo. Growth opportunities are in systems integration and R&D with the creation of the above mentioned “intelligent” devices. These devices are not just limited to medical devices however. ICT permeates almost all sectors. Companies such as Valeo Vision Systems (automotive electronics) in Galway are leading players in the smart technology and machine/deep learning space – self-driving cars being their main area of focus. This sector has a great impact across all businesses with adoption of ICT becoming a necessity for all manufacturing companies. Engineering companies in Ireland (sub-supply and own brand products) serve a range of markets including the med-tech, pharma/biopharma, ICT as well as engineering industrial products, products for the aerospace industry, agricultural equipment, plant and machinery.in the demand for niche skillsets. The Irish start-up scene continues to gain momentum with interesting new inventions particularly incorporating the use of artificial intelligence. Sonarc is a company developing the world’s first commercially viable speaker with no moving parts. Coroflo claims to have developed the world’s first accurate breastfeeding monitor. EnteraSense has developed a capsule that can be ingested by patients after surgery to monitor for any subsequent upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Kite Medical has created a novel device for detecting kidney reflux in children. Salaries In 2019 Salaries have been increasing across the sector, particularly for junior engineers entering the workforce. It remains a candidate driven market with highly skilled engineers holding a lot of the power on their side at the negotiating table. Where employers struggle with internal equity and capped salary bands, they are paying more attention to their benefits, offering flexible working options. These options include remote working, flexi-time, reduced working hours, more appealing healthcare packages/pension schemes, extra days annual leave, bonuses and stock/share options. Top Tip for 2019 The modern engineer needs more than a technical skillset to succeed. Engineers need to have an array of soft skills such as team work, communication, critical thinking etc. These soft skills will make you stand out from the crowd. Looking for a manufacturing and engineering job? Check out our latest jobs here

The Medical Device Sector – Why you should consider a move to the West?

As a whole the Medical Device Technology Industry is estimated to be worth somewhere between 173-193 billion euro and Ireland are the second biggest exporter of medical technology in Europe with giants like Boston Scientific and Medtronic employing 5200 and 4500 respectively in Ireland alone. The main area of expertise lies in Cardiovascular (Abbott, Medtronic and Boston) but there are plenty of Orthopaedic (J&J and DePuy) and Diagnostic (Beckman Coulter) MedTech companies too. The West of Ireland specifically has roughly 40% of the employment in the MedTech sector and 31% of that is stationed in Galway city and county. Eight of world’s top ten med tech companies are established here. The only downside…the companies in the West need more Engineers as their growth is surpassing the local development of graduates. So why not be part of the wave of new job opportunities washing over the West? Galway – the beating heart of the Medical Device Sector It’s a well-known fact that Dublin has overtaken London as the most expensive city to live in Europe. It’s also far to say that there is plenty on offer across the south in the biomedical engineering sector, but it is spread very far apart with one location not necessarily leading the way. It’s also no secret that multinational MedTech companies have identified Ireland as one of the best companies to develop their excellence, manufacturing and R&D operations. Don’t worry though as the Wild Atlantic West has plenty to offer and particularly in the MedTech hub, Galway. With the IDA developing Parkmore, Mervue and the other business parks and with most of the working professionals either directly or indirectly employed by a MedTech business, the future seems as bright for the West Coast of the emerald isle. Galway also has a thriving cultural scene, even winning the European Capital of Culture for 2020 where they aim to flood the city with cultural activities and tap into the deep history and sense of community. Galway has been named UNESCO city of film and awarded the European green leaf award as the most environmentally sustainable small city. Start-ups or Multinationals? The choice is yours! Whether you’re looking to get into an established company and to learn from the best in product excellence and R&D like Boston, Medtronic or Merit or have your heart set on getting into that niche start-up and making a life changing new product, thereby claiming your place in the Global Medtech Innovation. There is so much opportunity. A client of ours made waves after starting off in the engineering start-up program with NUIG by making ground breaking neurovascular devices and were recently acquired by J&J to help the Galway based site grow further with a global network of sister sites in America and Europe to help with manufacturing, compliance and product development. Similarly, another start-up called Novate was sold in a deal worth up to $150m due to their success in developing a blood filter. Also, with the likes of Capsos, Neosurgical and Veryan there is a large possibility, the amazing ability of the Irish and particularly Galway to innovate will continue strong, further adding to the vast opportunities for Engineers here in the West. Start-ups aren’t the only ones pushing the boundaries in Research and Development as Boston had 21 successful patent applications last year for their Galway site. They are also the largest medical device employer in Ireland and the Watchman implant has the MedTech sector very excited. Medtronic too have added the likes of Covidien life support products to their growing catalogue and founded their global site of excellence and development here in Galway for a reason, the continued success of the Galway talent pool to innovate and improve patients’ lives. Similarly, academic studies into MedTech are securing massive investment such as the Cúram research centre at NUI Galway (NUIG) which secured 22 million in funding from the EU. Finally, a key aspect which many of the MedTech companies here are involved in is Additive Manufacturing and the research of 3D Printed medical device solutions. Specialists in Polymers, Compliance/Regulatory Affairs and Manufacturing will have their choice of the lot when it comes to the jobs of the future. Innovation has been and will continue to be a massive part of the West’s success story in Medical Devices. Why the West? From Sea Sessions (outdoor music festival on the Atlantic coast which is not to be missed) in Donegal, Other Voices (an unmissable acoustic experience in Mayo) and the Galway International Arts Festival. The music scene has something to be seen and heard all year long. Galway has become renowned for attracting the music stars of the future, with no small mention to Ed Sheeran who busked and based a world-famous song on the city. If trad music is what your searching for, Sligo Live or one of the many traditional pubs will be sure to give you a great night out. Regarding food, the Galway farmers market has a baffling variety of Indian, German, traditional Irish and even more types of cuisine. Similarly, the likes of Kai (Awarded Michelin Bib), Cava, Dela, Ard Bia and the Galway Bay Brewery (Several best in Ireland beer awards) all have fantastic locally sourced food but as a whole Galway has been highlighted as the Gastronomic must visit city of Ireland. Sport-wise and activity wise, there are plenty of local sport clubs across the city and suburbs to join with the Medical Device companies offering sports and social clubs too. Also, Connacht have enjoyed plenty of success domestically and in internationally. The Sportsground is very centrally located and is always worth a visit. Croagh Patrick and Westport offers a decent challenge to mountain and hill climbers with spectacular views. As annual exports of medical devices valued at over 7 billion euros it would only make sense that investment has been made to further develop the infrastructure in the West of Ireland. With two airports, both seeing increased global services including regular flights to the UK and Germany from Knock and massive long-haul flights departing from Shannon as of late, the west is well serviced. Also, it is very well connected by road and rail to the other beautiful parts of Ireland. It’s hard to argue with how amazing the West of Ireland and how much further potential it has is. With a bright future in the medical device sector, come visit us or contact us directly for all of the details on the top jobs in MedTech here in the West of Ireland.