Being a sap may once have been a term of abuse but nobody is laughing nowadays at systems application programmers, one of a rare breed of information technology (IT) specialists who can choose where to work and who to work for.

At Hewlett Parkard's Liffey Park Technology Campus in Dublin, Mr David Forkin, a human resources specialist says that relocation costs of between £6,000 and £10,000 will be paid to IT specialists who sell up to move to Leixlip, Co Kildare.

The arrival of computer and electronics companies has also caused difficulties for the traditional industries. "They are perceived as fast-moving, high-tech, sexy," says Mr Brian Hogan, managing director of Kylemore Bakery.

If anything, he says, the bakery in the high-unemployment area of Finglas, in Dublin, has had more trouble getting reliable staff than any of the company's 25 bakery outlets or the catering division.

After the demise of the four-year apprenticeship scheme, the human resources department has to work that bit harder to convey the message that the modern bakery is a high-tech, highly automated environment offering a good career.

With about 900 staff in total in Kylemore, Mr Hogan says an employee-friendly culture in the workplace is important to keep the turnover rate low.

But Mr Brian Mahon of Compaq Computer Ireland and technology director of Teleservices Forum of Ireland (TSFI), an umbrella group for the teleservices industry, says that while the general shortage of language skills makes it more difficult to recruit personnel, the problem is compounded by high living expenses and Dublin's infrastructural shortcomings.

However, one area under the control of employers is staff relations - and general recruitment difficulties has resulted in a shift in attitudes.

Mr Paul Hughes, owner of the Abbey Glen Castle Hotel in Clifden, says staff relations have become more important and employers have to be conscious of employee needs in taking time off. For his quota of summer casual staff, he has benefited from Connemara being "fashionable" for visiting continental students willing to take on waiting positions.