Ireland's MedTech Employment Progress

Prime Position

One of the most exciting and fast moving industry in the Irish economy is that of the MedTech sector. At Elk Recruitment, we pride ourselves on being one of the leading agencies when it comes to MedTech jobs. As Ireland happens to be at the forefront of new business and enterprise in this sector, this leaves Elk Recruitment in a prime position to offer job seekers the very latest opportunities and career moves in the MedTech sector.

Back in February of this year, the Irish Medical Devises Association (IMDA) announced a four-year plan to consolidate Ireland’s place as a new hub for the industry. As more MedTech and Pharmaceutical firms announce new plans and jobs on a weekly basis, we can see that this strategy is already working. At this moment in time, Ireland is the second largest MedTech employer in Europe, lying behind Switzerland on a per-capita basis. This may change if Ireland continues to experience high growth beyond the current rate of 5.5% per year.

Regional Focus

This week, Galway MedTech company, Neuravi, secured 15 million in funding from IPF Partners in Luxemburg. Neuravi will use this funding to commercialise its clot retrieval product, Embotrap. Also in Galway, MedTech firm, Signum Surgical, recently announced that it had raised 2.6 million Euro from investors. One of Signum’s recent developments is an implant to promote healing and prevent reinfection in colorectal conditions.

Moving to Dublin, UCD MedTech spin-out company, Kinesis, has announced that it has raised 590’000 Euro to expand its global sales reach.

Ireland currently has over 450 companies employing 30’000 people in the MedTech sector, including 17 of the world’MedTec 25 leading MedTech multinationals. One of the advantages Ireland holds is its regional focus: The Irish Medical Device Association estimates that currently, 80% of companies are start-ups with nationwide locations.

Vast Experience

When it comes to liaising and collaborating with firms in this sector, Elk Recruitment’s vast expertise in the MedTech sector gives us a distinct advantage. Elk Recruitment has the knowledge and competency to offer the right candidate the best possible avenue to employment in this area.      

Growth In Irish Med-Tech

Skill Combination

This week saw further announcements of Irish MedTech Growth and new jobs within the medical-technology industry. As a leading recruitment firm in this sector, Elk Recruitment continues to notice particular trends which are becoming more prevalent and which can benefit a candidate tremendously. One factor which offers a significant advantage is that of having a combination of skills. The candidate with a broad knowledge base is being sought more often by the medical-technology industry as it expands into utilising multi-skilled employees in this growing sector.

New Job Announcements

Three examples of Irish MedTech Growth were announced by the IDA this week which demonstrates this trend. Fazzi Healthcare, a US company from Northampton, Massachusetts, announced the creation of a new medical coding centre in Limerick. Fazzi currently provides healthcare and coding services to countries around the world, but it is the first time a medical coding company has set-up in Ireland. This combination of medical technology and computer coding will be overseen by The World Health Organisation, and the company intend to create over 300 jobs in Ireland over the next five years. A second example of Irish MedTech Growth was the announcement by Mallinckrodt, a specialist pharmaceutical company, of a state of the art medical device research facility in Blanchardstown. This facility will create 40 new jobs combining research and development with expert engineering. This trend towards multi-skills was summed up by Mallinckrodt’s Managing Director, Dr David Keenan, when he said, “We’ll have different area’s working on similar products, but with different functions.”  Finally, Australian listed company, Oneview Healthcare announced plans for 50 new jobs in its Dublin office and 50 more for international posts this year. One view creates software for the healthcare industry and has recently signed new contracts with a range of US hospital groups.

Emerging Niche Sectors

At Elk Recruitment, we pride ourselves on our experience and insight when it comes to trends in technology and business, and spotting spikes in the jobs market such as Irish MedTech Growth. We are at the forefront of the recruitment industry and ideally placed to take advantage of these exciting and emerging niche sectors.
As Albert Einstein said,

“A ship is always safe at the shore, but that is not what ships were built for.”

MedTech and Medical Device Manufacturing

More College Graduates Entering Manufacturing Roles

One of the most misunderstood statistics in relation to today’s job market is the way manufacturing employment numbers are processed by the general public.

This area has become a sector requiring highly skilled employees as machinery and technology advances but many people interpret the change in traditional factory roles based purely on employment numbers. These often conceal that a skilled candidate can reap great rewards in the manufacturing sector today.

An example of this can be found in recent American figures which showed that in 2000, 53% of American manufacturing workers had no education beyond High-School level. When a new survey was conducted in 2015 it was discovered that this figure had dropped by 10% with the introduction of college graduates rising by almost the same number. This trend is being mirrored worldwide and offers the opportunity for new growth and potential for the skilled individual. Here at Elk Recruitment, we are already taking advantage of these changes.

200 New Medtech Jobs Announced Last Week

The Medtech industry is one particular sector which is coming to terms with this realignment of manufacturing and new technology. Last week, Irish medical firm, VistaMed announced that 200 new jobs are to be created at their state-of-the-art facility in Leitrim. 

According to Tom Kelly, head of the life sciences division at Enterprise Ireland, the Medtech sector offers a very bright future to anyone contemplating a career in this area as it already employs over 27’000 people and is continuing to grow.

Employees Hold Upper Hand

The great news for graduates is that they hold the upper hand as these changes continue. Companies are raising salaries in order to secure the brightest talent and added incentives such as career growth plans and opportunities to engage with more diversification within a company structure itself.

Due to our experience, and continued investment reputation, here at Elk Recruitment we are in a prime position to place highly skilled candidates throughout the high-growth Medtech sector.

As Ireland continues to benefit from a well-educated workforce we can guarantee our full commitment to assisting career success.