The Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys TD, has attended a major Jobs Recruitment Fair in Dublin – the first event of its kind since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.
Over 1,000 prospective jobseekers and 50 employers, including several multi-national companies, were present at the event in Swords, North County Dublin.
A number of Ukrainian Nationals, who moved to Ireland to flee the War in Ukraine, also met employers to explore job opportunities.
The event was organised by Intreo – the public employment service that falls under the remit of the Department of Social Protection.
The staging of such Recruitment Fairs is a key commitment under Pathways to Work – the Government’s ambitious employment services strategy launched last year.
The employers in attendance offered job opportunities in the likes of accountancy, financial services, customer service, engineering and utilities, hotel and catering, HR, IT, Public Sector, retail, sales, secretarial and administration, security, trades, transport and warehousing.
Among the businesses or bodies present were eBay, Dublin Bus, ESB, Defence Forces, Accenture, Butlers Chocolates, Dublin Airport Authority, Swissport, RyanAir and the Hilton Hotel.
Jobseekers who attended the event had the opportunity to engage directly with employers and present their CV or apply for a job on the day.
The vacancies are advertised on www.jobsireland.ie, the Department’s free online recruitment web platform.
Speaking at the event at the Riasc Centre, Swords, Minister Humphreys said, “as Minister, I am delighted to see such in-person Recruitment Fairs back up and running for the first time since Covid-19. The number of people on the Live Register has now fallen below 180,000 which means there are now fewer people on the Live Register than pre-Pandemic in February 2020. This shows that the Pathways to Work Strategy is delivering however more work remains to be done.”
“These events provide a valuable opportunity for jobseekers to meet face-to-face with potential employers. Today saw many people submit CVs and apply for jobs with the support of caseworkers within my own Department. This is what ‘Pathways to Work’ is all about – providing the opportunities and tools to jobseekers to get back into the workplace, as well as ensuring our businesses have access to a pool of talented jobseekers to hire from.”
The Minister continued, “I was also really heartened to meet members of the Ukrainian community who were in attendance today and met potential employers. We all continue to be horrified by the scenes from Ukraine and the shocking crimes that have befallen the Ukrainian people. My officials in the Department of Social Protection are here to help Ukrainian people when it comes initially to securing PPS Numbers and financial supports.”
“When Ukrainian Nationals feel the time is right, we are also here to help them upskill, retrain and ultimately finding employment. We also know that many employers are keen to offer employment to people from Ukraine. I want to thank the employers who are attending the event today for working with us to help jobseekers, whether from Ireland, Ukraine or elsewhere to move into new sectors or new roles post-pandemic.”
