Another election pit stop, another jobs announcement. Selling a message that exhorts the electorate to trust the present government's responsible management of the recovery, Taoiseach Enda Kenny was never going to pass up the chance to announce a major jobs boost at one of the largest employers in the west of Ireland.

Generic drugs group Chanelle plans to add 175 jobs to its existing 375-strong workforce in a €70 million expansion that will double capacity at its Loughrea headquarters.

“The Government wants to keep the recovery going so that innovative companies like Chanelle can continue to expand, grow and create jobs,” the Taoiseach said in Loughrea.

“It is most welcome that Chanelle is increasing its workforce to over 550 people in the west of Ireland.”

Most welcome indeed, but unfortunately Chanelle is likely to have to go abroad to fill most of the higher qualified roles on offer.

Chanelle founder Michael Burke (inset) says he has had to go abroad – mostly to India – to source R&D personnel since the late 1990s.

It is a point confirmed earlier in the week by Kerry-based serial entrepreneur Jerry Kennelly, who complained of a "serious dearth of people with the right skills for the type of companies being created here".

He says the reality is that employers are having to fly talent in from abroad, in what he says is a real lost opportunity for Ireland. Kennelly says there is a disconnect between the education system and the skills that our citizens need.

“This is a huge factor for all technology-related business and it is being ignored,” he says.

“Most of the new roles are filled from, or contracted abroad.”

Not quite the message the Government intends to convey in its endlessly rerun Action Plan for Jobs.