We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
BIG PHARMACEUTICAL FIRMS are on the hunt for graduates that have ‘soft skills’ such as teamwork and problem solving, according to a new report.
The report was carried out by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), a group set up to advise the government on labour market issues.
It is estimated that there could be as many as 8,400 job openings over the next five years in the Irish biopharma industry due to a mix of retirements, people leaving the sector and companies looking to ramp up hiring.
However, the group found that there needs to be several changes enacted to help Irish graduates secure jobs with these businesses, including “improving the alignment of education and skills provision with the needs of the biopharma industry”.
It said that companies cite a lack of ‘soft skills’ among graduates. Soft skills are personal attributes that help people to interact effectively in the workplace, such as leadership, working in teams and communications.
Soft skills
“It was felt by industry stakeholders that the quality of graduates is variable, especially with respect to interpersonal skills,” the report said.
Embedding the development of ‘soft skills’ into programmes and through work experience would help produce more balanced skill sets.
It added: “The ‘cultural fit’ of an individual within an organisation is also important. In many cases this revolves around the ‘soft skills’ competences that companies are looking for such as showing initiative, taking responsibility (and) communication skills.
A person with the required technical qualifications also needs to be able to demonstrate the above qualities.
The report also said that work placements in biopharma companies should typically run for between six and nine months.
Work placements
“Companies consider that a three-month placement is too short for them and that the student only becomes useful after six months’ work experience,” it said.
“It was concluded that structured placements should be at least 6–9 months duration.
“The optimal time for placements would be at the end of the third year of a degree programme so that students would have gained the learning to make the placement most valuable.”
Jobs Minister Minister Mitchell O’Connor noted that the biopharma sector “employs over 28,000 people and creates significant secondary employment in construction and other services when investment in new plants is under way”.
“The report into the future skills needs of the sector will help industry and government to take the necessary steps to ensure that skills supply to the sector can be met.”
Other recommendations made in the report include a suggestion that companies expand their graduate-entry development programmes and the possibility for the government to develop a new biopharma apprenticeship and career traineeship for those on jobseeker’s courses.
Written by Paul O’Donoghue and posted on Fora.ie
Incoming comments about how they could afford rent if they didn’t have a few drinks on the weekend.
@D: but back in my day ……. * angrily shakes fist*
@Keelan O’neill: back in my day rent for the year was easily covered by summer work.
It’s a nice idea but it’ll do no good, the rents will increase and the students will still pay it.
They have to be more radical (not talking about violence) but they need to make a bigger stand. For example, they could protest outside the new accomodation being built and stop work going on there, obviously this isn’t a good thing but it’s just an idea if they want to really put their foot down.
@John Black: Rents will NOT increase if people all stand together and say enough is enough! Rents are extortionate and FFG are happy for this to stay so they keep the REITS happy. FFG don’t care about the electorate. People need to stand together
This is all based on Supply and Demand, Ireland is currently one of the most attractive places in the world for international students to come and study. People who can afford to send their children to study abroad can also well afford these new increases.
@Cynical: so true, and that’s why the new accomodation currently under construction is more like a set of penthouses rather than basic student accommodation
@John Black: Irish Universities are not even in the Top 100 of the world. It has nothing to do with student accommodation! There only building student accommodation for the tax breaks
Jesus I wish I thought of that when i was in college, and they had much more land back then too!!!!
Referendum needed to fix the defective Irish Constitution to permanently solve the housing / Rent / Accommodation crisis … else, your great grand kids will face the same … important to bring your ‘young’ brains to the Polling booths …
https://www.change.org/p/irish-housing-crisis-referendum-on-family-homes
They have a case.
So at it’s lowest end (€749) it will increase by €30 per annum, few less shots one weekend and it’s sorted. This is a nothing article. We see article after article about how the cost of living is increasing on a monthly if not weekly basis. Even over a 8 or 9 month academic year equates to about 3.50 a month, for accommodation where transport and utilities are a non factor this is a bargain. Wait til these students decide to live and work in the real world and they will see what hardship is really like or will the carrot of taking their degrees overseas be dangled in from of the next government?
@Ian Breathnach: so based on what it’s like when they finish college and get to experience hardship by having a job (whatever that means) this is isn’t an issue?
10k a year to just have somewhere to live while going to college (and don’t forget fees/“registration costs” on top of this) seems like an issue to me…
Also, how is this an equal start for kids? Someone living in an urban area, close to a university can stay at home with their parents but if you live outside a commutable distance you could be hit with these substantial costs just to be able to attend university.
I know my kid’s college choices will be influenced by what and where we can afford to send them.
@Pilib: are you suggesting free accommodation to all students? Is an additional 3.50 a month extortionate? No. In the grander scheme of things does living on campus save money as I stated? Yes. Do you not expect your children to work while in college/university? Are you going to give them a few euro for pints during the week too? The point I’m making is it’s a small increase, regardless of what you think, it is not a huge amount ie one less coffee a month. Minimum wages have increased, obviously these students firmly believe that these properties and the college for that matter run on fresh air. Typically people don’t care how much it costs to run things, the behind the scenes maintenance and upkeep. People are outraged when it is suggested they pay for the services they receive.
@Ian Breathnach: I think you’re missing the point, the issue is that the price is already extortionate and the increase is rubbing salt in the wounds. 4% increase isn’t much if the original rent was reasonable but it is extortionate already.
As much as you like to think it, these students aren’t scroungers, they have no problem paying for accommodation if it’s a fair price but colleges are using it to squeeze every cent out of students, they’re taking advantage of them.
@John Black: explain to me how it is extortionate?
@Ian Breathnach: you pay 8000 for an 8 month lease , so 1000 per person per month, to share an apartment with 5 other people, thats 6000 per month for a basic apartment, now it’s your turn to explain to me how that’s not extortionate.
How can a college charge 48k for an apartment for only 8 months when “greedy landlords” get slammed for charging 24k for a 12 month lease?
@John Black: well, you don’t have to commute so no transport fees, all utilities are included and on site security 24/7 and depending on what halls you are living in there are other “luxuries”. Now I’m open to correction but you say apartment, but aren’t these ensuite rooms with communal living spaces?
Students will have Less money for drink and drug consumption
No one cares it’s the new progressive Ireland, so suck it up snowflakes
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say