Hireland initiative marks 4,000 new jobs during 2012

Over 1,400 companies pledged more than 6,000 jobs as a result of the Hireland initiative during 2012. On average, companies pledged over three jobs each.

Research conducted by Amárach last week, amongst over 100 SMEs, revealed some of the biggest benefits experienced by employers, as a direct result of hiring additional staff.

Almost 9 in 10 employers claimed that customer service had improved with over 80% stating that existing staff had been freed up to work on other aspects of the business. Other benefits included a boost to staff morale with three quarters of employers stating that morale had improved within the company. Sixty percent of employers said that taking on additional staff had also sent a message to competitors.

One year on – Hireland initiative marks 4,000 new jobs during 2012 representing a saving of €30,000,000 to the state

– 6,000 job pledges on Hireland in 2012 leads to 4,000 people placed in jobs

– Hireland aims to double its target to 10,000 pledges by the end of 2013

– Almost 75% of SMEs surveyed plan to hire, on average, 6 new employees in 2013

Hireland launched in January 2012 with a national campaign designed to spark the nation into thinking differently about the advantages of creating jobs over cutting them – and the campaign is working. By challenging employers to think about what they can do to improve their business through hiring, Hireland is changing the mindset from one of firing as a survival strategy to one of hiring as a growth strategy.

At the time of Hireland’s launch, half of employers said that they were afraid to hire but looking ahead to 2013, 74% of companies surveyed twelve months on, plan to hire an average of six new employees this year with the nature of those jobs being mostly full-time, or a mix of part-time and full-time. Over half of companies expect to hire graduates while four in ten plan to hire people on the live register, or those who are unemployed.

Commenting on the research findings, Lucy Masterson, co-founder of Hireland said, “Hireland is mobilising a willingness on the part of local businesses to play their part. We’ve had a staggering response. When we set about launching Hireland, we had a target of 5,000 pledges in mind. Through the collective effort of Irish SMEs, we have exceeded this target by 20%.

What’s even more promising is the feedback from employers, who fully intend to hire more people having experienced the positive benefits for themselves, despite their initial concerns.”

Each individual hired from the live register results in increased public revenue of €380 per individual, per week.

Today also saw Hireland unveil its 2013 campaign, which comprises of a national advertising and media campaign designed to keep the positive momentum going by pushing the call to “Hire 1” in to the county networks.

“All the research shows that the biggest problem unemployed people are faced with is that they don’t have networks of support. In addition to the county call out Hireland’s campaign will also feature a new component www.hiremyskill.ie, empowering people to zone in on the talents they have. Ireland is renowned for its skilled work force and while we are in difficult times we mustn’t lose sight of the deep pool of talent just waiting to make things happen here in Ireland,” continued Masterson.

Hireland is an entirely voluntary initiative, which started on a budget of just €149 with the sole ambition of getting people back to work in order to prevent people’s skills from becoming obsolete. Employers interested in hiring can pledge a job free-of-charge on www.hireland.ie