Demand for Galway graduates in rural enterprises

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Written by Administrator

Wednesday, 25 July 2007

There are opportunities for third level graduates and highly skilled staff to work in rural enterprises in the West of Ireland.

That’s one of the key points to emerge from new research by the Western Development Commission (WDC) on rural enterprises in the West.

The WDC’s publication ‘Rural Businesses at Work’ concludes that retaining and attracting young people to rural areas is vital to the continued growth of rural enterprises and for the establishment of new businesses in such areas. Rural enterprises are at the heart of the Western Region’s future, given that 68 per cent of the population lives in rural areas. In County Galway, 57 per cent of the population is rural.

Speaking at the launch of the publication, Gillian Buckley Chief Executive of the WDC said: “Our research shows there is a close fit between the needs of employers and of staff. Those running businesses in rural areas have a demand for graduates and skilled workers, while the WDC’s LookWest.ie campaign shows that many skilled workers have a strong desire to work and live in the West.

“Recent CSO figures showed 21 per cent of adults in County Galway have a third level degree. This is positive news for enterprises in the county as it provides a pool of locally available, highly educated workers,” she said.

The new WDC publication profiles ten businesses in different sectors, including traditional and high-tech manufacturing, professional services, natural resources, internationally traded services, tourism, retail and the creative and construction industries. The profiles show the diversity of firms operating in rural Ireland and give an insight into how they operate.
“This study lifts the lid on rural enterprises. It shows that it is possible nowadays to run a successful business in almost any sector in rural Ireland, particularly if you have access to the latest information technology and can network easily with customers, suppliers and peers. It also underlines the importance of high speed, affordable broadband to rural areas. It is essential that universal broadband access be a national priority and hopefully the National Broadband Scheme announced earlier this year will be fully implemented as soon as possible,” she added.

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