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The Christmas period is essential to the survival and growth of the businesses of Irish retailers, but with Irish consumers spending more than €8.5 million per day on online goods, they face a huge challenge in securing consumer spend. That is why many retailers are now taking positive steps in cyberspace to help support and safeguard Irish jobs and businesses.

eMark1By branding their products using an ‘eMark’, consumers will be able to identify approved Irish online businesses before making their purchasing decisions.

Increase in online activity

It is estimated that approximately 43 per cent of Irish consumers made purchases online last year. As many as 2.6 million Irish people are regular online shoppers. The overall total of online shopping in Ireland amounted to €4.1bn in 2012, an increase on €2.96bn the previous year. The bad news, however, is that 75 per cent of these purchases went through companies not in Ireland, thereby resulting in less money in the economy and so fewer jobs and businesses.

According to eMark’s Michael McCormack, the online retail market is set to grow to €21 billion by 2017, meaning that now is a crucial time for Irish retailers to act and reclaim their market share from international online retailers.

‘Our goal is to make sure consumers are informed about what companies are Irish and therefore this should lead to more people likely to choose those companies and ultimately support Irish businesses and jobs,’ said McCormack.

The job outlook in Ireland seems to be improving, at least according to the latest figures coming from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Benjamin Disraeli once said that there are three kinds of lies: 'lies, damned lies, and statistics', yet it is difficult not to feel a sense of optimism given the CSO report, which claims that rates of unemployment in Ireland are falling, while employment rates are steadily growing.

The figures have their critics of course. They suggest that it is only natural for unemployment rates to drop when thousands of people are emigrating each day. Then there is the contentious reliability of 'live register' figures - those on a JobBridge internship, for instance, or those undergoing government-supported training, are not included on the live register, though they are still technically 'unemployed'.

A riposte may come in the form that while people on such schemes are not receiving a taxable wage, they are still pursuing an intent to improve their prospects and employability - surely a significant step up from impoverishment without reasonable hope for improvement.

The other retort, of course, is that while unemployment figures can be debated to some extent, employment figures cannot. This is where the CSO figures begin to paint a genuinely rosy picture: 1,200 jobs are being created each week in the private sector. Over the last three months, some 22,500 jobs have been added.

There is always room for a critical eye, but sometimes good news is just good news.

According to the latest Close Brothers Business Barometer survey, almost half of all Irish small and medium enterprise (SME) owners will hold  staff Christmas parties this year, thereby marking an increase of around 10 per cent compared with last year's Christmas period.

‘Christmas parties have fallen victim to the recession over the last few years and this noticeable increase is a positive sign that business confidence is picking up,’ said managing director for Close Brothers Commercial Finance (Ireland), Harry Parkinson.

‘For many bosses, the annual Christmas party is significant as it is a chance to build relationships with staff and reward them for their hard work and loyalty throughout the year.

‘However, over the last number of years, many employers have been forced to cut back on any unnecessary expenditure and understandably staff entertainment is often first on the list.

‘Staff morale can make a real difference to a company’s bottom line, so it’s great to see so many employers recognising this and treating their staff with festive celebrations this year.’

The opinion poll of SME owners across the UK and Ireland also revealed that 16 per cent of Irish firms are benefitting from current trading conditions, a rise of over 6 per cent on the previous quarter, suggesting that business confidence is also improving.

‘It appears that the tide could be starting to turn for Irish SMEs. Our research suggests that many firms are making the most of the current economic climate with increasing numbers reporting an improvement in their trading conditions,’ said Parkinson.

More than 70 new jobs are to be created in Dublin after two Indian companies announced that they would be establishing international headquarters in the capital.

Forty of those roles are to be brought into being by Aditi Technologies, a ‘cloud first’ technology services company whose headquarters are in Bangalore, India.

Aditi has worked with more than 150 companies, helping them run and transform their business with cloud platforms such as Windows Azure, SalesForce.com, and Amazon Web Services. The Dublin headquarters will focus on aiding the complex cross-platform deployments to cloud. There will also be a gradual recruitment drive for consultants and engineering staff, as the business grows its services in Europe.

Speaking about the announcement, Kaushik Banerjee, VP of Aditi Technologies Europe said: ‘Ireland offers an encouraging investment climate with investor and business friendly policies so it became an obvious choice for us when looking at our expansion in Europe. There is also a wealth of local technology talent which we are looking forward making part of Aditi.’

The announcement was made as part of a trade and investment mission to Bangalore, India, with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton also announcing another new business win for the IDA.

There was more good new when Synowledge, an Indian company specialising in the provision of drug safety and regulatory affairs services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device sectors, also announced that it would be establishing an international headquarters in Dublin, creating of 35 new jobs.

Based out of Stamford, CT, USA, Synowledge has operation facilities located in Ohio, the UK, Germany and Bangalore. The Irish operation will carry out sales and marketing for the entire Synowledge product portfolio and will provide near-shore delivery of the company’s pharmacovigilance, regulatory and IT services to Europe.

President and CEO of Synowledge, Sankesh Abbhi said that Ireland was a ‘logical choice’ for its international base to seamlessly connect with its US HQ and delivery centers in Europe, India and Japan.

Food company Nestlé have launched a job creation initiative to bring 1,900 employment opportunities to young people over the next three years as part of its European Youth Employment Initiative launched in Athens.

The programme will help 20,000 people across Europe under the age of 30 find employment; offering 10,000 jobs and creating 10,000 apprentice positions and traineeships by 2016.

It is anticipated that around 5 per cent of the employment opportunities announced will be available in Ireland specifically. Youth unemployment in Ireland currently stands at nearly 30 per cent.

Working with supplier McCurrach Ireland, Nestlé Ireland will offer paid work experience within its offices and sales teams to young people.

The ‘Populus’ study commissioned by Nestlé shows that that nine out of 10 businesses felt young people left school inadequately prepared to commence work. In addition, despite 62 per cent of business leaders believing that only work experience could give young people the skills they needed to gain employment, only 30 per cent felt that they got any value out of offering it.

’Sadly young people in Ireland are stuck in a catch-22 situation,’ said Fiona Kendrik, COE of Nestlé UK & Ireland. ‘They can’t get a job without experience, but can’t get experience without a job.

‘Companies need to help young people escape from this trap. As employers, we value young people with experience, so we have to provide young people with enough opportunities to gain it.’

Nestlé is the world's largest food group, well known for brands such as KitKat, Shredded Wheat and Nescafe.

 

Australia is one of the destinations of choice for many of those leaving Irish shores to find work. But how do those who have made the move feel about their adopted home? This Irish Times piece takes a look at Irish emigrants' experiences and attitudes towards life in Australia.

'Every six minutes somebody leaves Ireland for good. In the 12 months up to April this year, 90,000 people emigrated – about 240 every day of the year. Of those about 15,400 ended up in Australia. What happens to them when they get there? How do they feel about their adopted country? Does it live up to their expectations? What do they miss most about home?

A number of people from a range of backgrounds have spoken to The Irish Times about their experiences of life in Australia. They include a nurse, a police officer, a musician, a journalist, a building contractor, an HR professional and an entrepreneur.'

Click here to read the entire article.

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