Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 October 2013
309. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of jobs promoted by the Industrial Development Agency that require a foreign language to native speaker level for each year since 2007. [40678/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by IDA Ireland that they are unable to provide the number of jobs promoted that require foreign language skills at native speaker level as the Forfás Employment survey does not track the language skills of employees in individual companies. The Agency has explained that research undertaken by the Expert Group on Future Skills identifies foreign language skills as a key skill requirement for enterprise trade and export performance. This includes the foreign owned multinational sector. In some cases the requirement is for native language speakers, due to the nature of the job/function. In other cases, employees with high, but non-native, language proficiency are what is needed, particularly where other highly sought after skills are also required, such as engineering, ICT etc.
To underpin the overall development of the foreign owned multinational sector in Ireland, it is important that Ireland meets the requirements of its multinational client base for both native and non-native language skill requirements. IDA client companies primarily use Ireland as a base to service to the European and Asian markets. These companies understand the importance of proficiency in local market languages to successfully compete and sustain growth in a market. Language skills are particularly important for sales and marketing and HR staff but increasingly, FDI companies are seeking employees with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and maths that also have a proficiency in more than one language.
Ireland’s availability of skilled labour is one of the primary reasons cited by IDA clients for establishing their operations in Ireland. A scaling up in the supply of domestic foreign languages capability in second and in third level will enhance Irelands’ proposition for foreign direct investment.
