Delivering Jobs at EI
9th January 2017
Enterprise Ireland, the Government agency responsible for developing Irish business globally, reported that over the period of its 2014-2016 Strategy ‘Driving Enterprise, Delivering Jobs’, 45,592 new full time jobs were created by client companies. This brings the total number of people employed by Enterprise Ireland supported companies to 201,108 – an all-time high for the Agency.
A total of 19,244 new jobs (full and part-time) in Enterprise Ireland supported businesses were created in 2016. Almost two-thirds of these new jobs were outside Dublin, and all regions recorded increases in employment. Digital Technology, Construction and Fintech were the key performing sectors. This translates into a net increase of 9,117 jobs for 2016 (taking account of job losses).
Enterprise Ireland has also just published its 2017-2020 Strategy – Build Scale, Expand Reach. The strategy builds on the success of recent years and sets new, ambitious targets for jobs and export growth.
Enterprise Ireland Chief Executive Julie Sinnamon said: “Our focus over the last three years to deliver jobs and drive enterprise has paid dividends, with 45,000 new jobs recorded, breaking the 200,000 milestone of people employed in Enterprise Ireland supported companies for the first time ever. We aim to build on this success and ensure that Irish enterprise is well positioned to continue to succeed globally particularly in the context of Brexit.”
Despite global economic challenges, Enterprise Ireland attributes the strong performance by Irish businesses over the last three years to an improving entrepreneurial climate for start-ups, dynamic Irish companies innovating and scaling up in key sectors such as food, fintech, business process outsourcing, non-food manufacturing, ICT and construction.
Enterprise Ireland has set ambitious targets for its client companies, against a background of unprecedented global challenges and uncertainty over the next three years.
Key priorities for Enterprise Ireland will include:
Driving innovation in Irish enterprise to unprecedented levels through new supports to reach the target of €1.25bn in R&D expenditure per annum by 2020.
Improving the competitiveness of Irish companies through our Competitiveness and Lean programmes and new client engagement model, which will provide targeted supports.
Increasing the reach of client company exports into new markets, with two-thirds of exports going beyond the UK.
Major focus on the Eurozone, targeting a 50 per cent increase in exports.
(Pictured: Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD announcing details of Enterprise Ireland’s end of year statement 2016)