The government is turning to the private sector for ideas on training, education and job creation. The latest scheme by government invites proposals to help "stimulate innovation in the provision of training and activation measures for job seekers". The government has put €20 million to fund such ideas. We believe this may well be the right approach given the track record of the government so far but here's hoping that evaluation of the Tenders is done efficiently......

Find out more at: http://www.entemp.ie/press/2010/20100312.htm

According to a recent article (http://www.thepost.ie/story/text/eyqlqlojkf/) in the Sunday Business Post (7th March 2010) more and more firms are using temporary workers to get around employment freezes and it gives the firm more flexibility in terms of commitment.

This trend is happening on all levels in organisations and across all types of industries which recruiters say is interesting and a new trend. Such roles may turn into permanent positions and this 'getting to know each other' period is now hugely important for both company and client.

One problem companies are having is being inundated with applicants as people who are looking for work tend to apply for anything that even might be suitable. The issue now is screening and matching the right candidate for the position.

The trend for temporary work is something we at Flexitimers always felt would happen and we are delighted to part of this new employment model.

The Independent's article on new and different ways of interviewing candidates was certainly an eye opener - http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/jobs-careers/manholes-pirates-and-window-cleaning--welcome-to-the--modern-job-interview-1946437.html

The new "techniques" are focused around asking the candidate odd ball questions such as how many golf balls would you fit into a school bus? The idea is to see how the candidate reacts and what answers are attempted.

Its being used by companies such as Google and Microsoft and the technique's questions have been named 'Open-Ended Logic-Problem Screening Tools', or put more simply: 'The manhole question'.

And we thought the "where do you see yourself in 5 years time?" was hard to answer??!!!

Season 2 of Dragons' Den Ireland returns to our screens in February and the good news is you still have a few days to apply to pitch your idea to Ireland's Dragons. Potential investment, mentoring and national exposure are among the sweeteners so if you're looking for any of the above, why not give it a go.
I watched the show last year in the company of many others thanks to Twission - a cool app that aggregates tweets that contain the same hash tag. So throughout last year's season people all over Ireland watching the show added #ddire to the end of their tweets allowing us all to 'converse' about the show. Really good fun so if you're not on the show maybe we'll meet up on Twission to discuss. Best of luck.

Went along to an event run by LinkedIn group Irish Recruiters yesterday billed: The Future of Recruitment Part 2: The Road Ahead yesterday in Dublin's Westbury Hotel. This is the second in a series of conferences and other events run by Declan Fitzgerald, full time global sourcing manager at Microsoft, blogger and consummate tech evangelist.

The theme of the conference was very much cloud recruitment and Declan opened proceedings with a presentation on where he sees the industry going along with a whistle stop tour of the killer apps and tools available to professional recruiters today. Personally I couldn't see the recruitment angle on QR Codes but as a marketer they're certainly very interesting. Other tools such as Qik (offering free live video streaming) and Augmented Reality Browsers such as Layar and TAT. He also introduced us to his pet iphone recruitment apps and most of us agreed that the majority are not mission critical offering tips and guides rather than solving any major pain points with the exception of beamME CV which allows job seekers to apply and send cloud CVs via apple mobile devices. Excellent round-up of what's on the market all the same.

Then an exceptional presentation from Bill Fisher who spoke about his latest project TwitterJobSearch and to be honest it's a must for any serious recruiter or job seeker. It was so refreshing to see such high quality high brow technology being deployed in the recruitment industry and I'm definitely signing up for that. His presentation style was quirky and he's very funny - a breath of fresh air for us all.

Last slot before the break was another hugely professional recruitment professional, Martin Cerullo from AMS. If they deliver even half of what he told us yesterday well then this is the benchmark we should all strive towards. He spoke about RPO and just the ends and creativity to which they stretch the scope of their role within organisations (marketing, business processes, streamlining, efficiency, smart smart smart work) so beyond the traditional siloed definition of recruitment or sourcing elsewhere. Really really good.

I didn't network during the 30 min break at 4 as it'd been many hours since my porridge in Wexford so we trotted down to Avoca Cafe on Suffolk Street for an uber nourishing tomato and lentil soup.

After the break we were split into break-out sessions to solve the Jobs Boards Vs Social Networks dilemma. The general consensus was that job boards as they are today are nearing obsolescence and must simply evolve to stay in the game. All of us recruiters know that social networks are big, really big but our particular group felt corporate social networks such as LinkedIn and Xing are contenders but felt the more social ones were too cluttered for meaningful sourcing to take place. Personally as a biased job board owner, I believe they aren't mutually exclusive and are complementary and some sort of hybrid integrating the two is probably the best (aka we all agreed at the end that LinkedIn is in fact a jobs board). Great discussion all the same.

Sonru's newly appointed CEO Fergal O'Byrne gave an excellent presentation on his personal journey throughout his 15 years in the web industry and how video was where he wanted to be hence his recent departure as CEO of the IIA. Engaging, informative and personable, his talk made you believe in online video and then he wowed us with their remote video interviewing tool which is and will save many companies much time and money in screening candidates. Sonru is not yet one year old and they're selling in about 8 countries, have an enviable client list and what's more they're adding value - a must for our industry today.

Last up was a duo from Cork based EMC and regrettably their names now escape me, apologies. They gave an evangelical presentation on their experience of a recent Salesforce.com CRM implementation and were very pleased to discover the HR/recruitment bundle that was included. It was getting late, I'm not a multinational, I know CRM tools can literally change peoples' lives (working lives) but I'm from start-ups all the way so the topic didn't engage me but is relevant to multinationals or any company looking to streamline their business processes so check them out. I'll stick with my beloved and uber affordable 37signals.

Then to the bar for a glass of Guinness (driving), quick chat, network, nice to hook up with a few people - good conversation, excellent content all day. Overall worth the 120k round trip. Thanks to Declan. Keep it up.

If you've been thinking about starting a new business but are not sure where to go next, perhaps you'd consider looking at the M50 Enterprise Start Programme run by the LINC (Learning and Innovation Centre) at Institute of Technology Blanchardstown.
The 6 week program promises to help you work through the steps required to start a business while also giving you the support and advice which will help you decide how to develop your business idea.

For more information please contact Claire Quigley on 01 8851502

Labels: Entrepreneurship, Recession

Eibhlin Curley of Dublin City Enterprise Board is at it again, starting and encouraging networks for businesses to develop and prosper.
CreativeD was developed by Dublin City Council, Dublin City and County Enterprise Boards and The Digital Hub.
This network-based programme specifically designed for the creative industries is said to be the first of its kind in Dublin. Its aim is to define, develop and promote creative businesses and to ensure that individually and collectively the creative industries become a significant force in our new economy.
Meetings, Workshops, Networking events, Online forums, Seminars and Skills development sessions are promised with the first event kicking off on 20th October 2009, coinciding with Dublin Innovation Week. You can book a place for this event and/or think about joining the network. The annual subscription to the programme is 100 euros.
Closing date for receipt of applications for the complete programme is: Friday 2nd October 2009. For further information phone (01) 4293600 or visit the website.

Labels: Entrepreneurship, Out and About, Smart Work