Despite an unemployment rate of almost 15%, there is still a shortage of candidates with the skills, education, languages and experience to take on roles such as software engineers and gaming specialists.

There are engineering vacancies in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sectors as well.

There are a number of niche tech companies from mobile telecoms to gaming software to e-learning and bioinformatics hiring at this point. It is a global marketplace and companies here are continuing to win international business.

The maximum vacancies in Ireland are for software engineers specialising in web development, networking, IT security and gaming; electrical engineers specialising in power generation and wind power; biomedical engineers; and project management engineers.

Qualified accountants who specialise in financial control, compliance, treasury and risk are also in demand.

A degree is required for 85% of professional vacancies and 75% of employers demand between two and six years experience.