Getting Started

I'm going to kick this off with aspirations.

There are several things I intend to write about time permitting. I'm currently job hunting and looking after my daughter most of the week. I'm also doing a post grad and I intend to try and use some of my learning and study from the post grad in what I blog.

I'll also try and pick up on some of the issues that I feel I need to comment on.

Ireland is going through a major change at the moment, it's part way through and reached a crux as perpetuated by the recent crash in the housing and public finances are testiment to.

I believe there is a major change taking place as manufacturing shifts out of the country and the government tries to move us to a SMART high value economy. But where does this leave manufacturing in Ireland?

Recently we've had a glut of major international companies move their manufacturing operations over seas, Dell being one of the most promenant. I think the days of big manufacturing companies in Ireland is at an end. Even mid sized companies are under pressure, they are probably suffering the most in the current climate with little support from a strained banking sector reluctant to take risks.

What is probably going to happen is a growth in smaller companies, producing niche products which are either highly technical or have very short shelf life. Hence the Innovation supplement in Today's Irish Times focused heavily on Nanotechnology and the promenance it is playing in Irish R&D expenditure. The opening of the new Competence Centre in Nanotechnology based in Cork has a remit to do industry lead R&D which will belong with in the competence centre. There are other Competence Centres being planned and some of them will also have Nanotechnology interests.

The other big growth area seems to be in food. Alot of the jobs I see advertised are in Food processing companies. Now maybe there has been a startling number of retirements from this industry or there is still growth in this area. I've seen several advertisments for jobs and I'm finding this particularly fustrating. I'm sure that people find this strange, but I have absolutely no desire to work for a food company, particularly in meat processing. I'm squemish and whilst my good wife is able to put money in her account for me to buy some of that meat I don't feel inclined to make myself sick getting it into the shop. Besides, is this really the kind of high end jobs people are aspiring for when it's not what they love?

I'll try to pick up on these points later on as I try to gear and position myself better in the job market for the coming New Year.

Next time I'll try to take some of Ita Kelly's suggestions for going back on some of the developments in packaging in the Irish Times on the 17th Oct 09.