What does Facebook’s massive Dublin expansion mean for the Irish jobs market?

Facebook’s plans to bring its total headcount in Ireland to 5,000 is good news for jobseekers, but what does it mean for Ireland more broadly?

This week in Careers, we reported on the news that Facebook plans to recruit a staggering 1,000 new people at its Irish operation in Dublin.

The announcement was made by Facebook’s controversy-hounded chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, who was in the country attending Facebook’s Gather event for small businesses. The recruitment drive will bring the tech firm’s Irish headcount to 5,000.

It’s certainly good news for people working in areas such as engineering, safety, legal, policy, marketing and sales. It is a definite boost to the already healthy Irish tech labour market. Yet is it also cause for concern?

The glut of the roles announced this week in Ireland were in Dublin. There was also a small number of roles, 27 to be exact, announced by Portadown engineering firm Boyce Precision Engineering. The concentration of roles in Ireland’s capital risks further exacerbating the existing accommodation crisis that is brewing there. That said, at this stage every Irish major city is feeling the pinch, showing how much the situation is spiralling out of control.

It also further entwines Ireland with Facebook, a company that has had a rather bad 12 months PR-wise, and that doesn’t look to improve any time soon. With that, it is easy to feel ambivalent about the revelation.

As reported on last week, the news from Accenture that it is set to host a data science course geared towards women in STEM is positive for the Irish jobs market, as it aims to simultaneously plug existing skills shortages and redress the lack of diversity often seen in these sectors. Indeed, reskilling is a great way to not only keep your mind sharp, but maintain a competitive edge on the jobs market.

If you are in the job-search process, you’d probably celebrate the news that you have been invited back for a second interview. Yet it is also pretty huge pressure; the stakes are high, so it’s understandable you may have your fears. This guide provided by Hays’ Robby Vanuxem can help allay your anxieties and prepare to put your best foot forward.

Finally, we caught up with MSD’s Mark Roberts this week to hear his thoughts on the differences between living in the UK and Ireland, and how country living is treating him.

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View of Facebook corporate office in Dublin. Image: Faithie/Depositphotos