Technician/Higher Technician
Are you looking for a job with lots of earning potential, challenging and interesting work and genuine chances for advancement? Then you should seriously consider a career as a technician in the electronics industry, the fastest-growing sector of the Irish economy.
In recent years, a number of analysts have referred to our current economic situation as the "Celtic Tiger", even as a "miracle" economy, and the electronics industry has played no small part. At present, the State plays host to about 300 foreign-owned companies, which produce many top-of-the-range products.
The sector, on the whole, employs approximately 32,000 people and is responsible for more than 30 per cent of Ireland's annual exports.
These are impressive figures, to say the least - but there's a catch. Ireland has a high demand for technical skills, with a particular need for technicians and higher technicians.
Jobs within this field are plentiful, diverse and, by all accounts, interesting.
Consider the self-sustaining technician who works on the equipment which runs the production line; or the diagnostic repair technician who has to identify faults on various computer components.
There are advantages to this kind of career, with good pay, challenging work and, in most companies, good chances of advancement.
An interest in how things work, backed up by an interest in maths or physics should be enough to get you started: after that, a suitable qualification is the best way to get straight into a job as a technician. For those of you who are thinking "points, points and more points" in order to get into a degree course, take note: there are alternatives.
The relevant Institute of Technology courses offer excellent ways to get into the industry. Indeed, the Minister for Education and Science, Micheal Martin, actively encourages this route, which incorporates the progression from certificate to diploma and then on to degree, an approach which will eventually put paid to "academic snobbery".
Another factor which works in favour of these courses is that many of the colleges have strong links with key companies in the electronics industry; as a result, they can offer work experience and even work placements to their students and graduates - and the feedback from business in general and the industry in particular has been glowing.
There is evidence, on the basis of the CAO figures, of an increase in applications to relevant courses.
Jobs exist - and not just for the near future. As the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Harney, has said, there are "long-term prospects for those with technician and higher-technician qualifications". Indeed, last week, she said that the industry was expected to grow by 15,000 jobs in the next five years.
