Ireland continues to be a net beneficiary from international professional talent migration, with 18pc more professionals coming to Ireland than leaving the country in Q3 2015, according to new research from LinkedIn.

LinkedIn’s data analysis, based on member updates between July and September, shows that the technology industry continues to attract the most foreign talent, with the software and hardware sectors ranking among the top five most popular areas for professionals moving to Ireland.

“Ireland has been a net beneficiary of professional talent, with the technology sector, in particular, proving to be a draw for foreign professionals,” explained Dr Craig Holmes from the University of Oxford.

‘Talent is the No 1 reason why companies continue to choose to come to Ireland. We must ensure that it remains an attractive place to live and work’

– MARTIN SHANAHAN, IDA IRELAND

“During the quarter we see a shift towards employment in small-sized establishments, with more people opting to start their own business, leaving large-sized organisations – and the sort of roles that we’d typically find in such organisations, like administration and accounting – in the process. Ireland saw a growth in employment of professionals in the largest firms.

“A shift towards small firms and self-employment, as well as an increase in the number of professionals engaged in entrepreneurship and business development, are all indicators that the economic recovery is raising business confidence,” Dr Holmes said.

Software leads the inbound talent pool, according to LinkedIn

The sectors that attracted the most professionals in order of popularity were technology (software); heathcare and pharma; government/education/non-profit; retail and consumer products and technology (hardware).

“Our data underscores the positive momentum in the Irish economy,” said Sharon McCooey, senior director, international operations at LinkedIn.

“As a company that has grown in Ireland in recent years, we, too, have benefited by being able to attract talent from different parts of the world, as well as professionals who want to return to Ireland. Our experience is that Ireland has a great reputation abroad as a place to work and live, we hope to see this trend continue.”

For the second quarter running, Italy (13pc of inbound talent) continued to be the biggest net contributor of professionals to Ireland, followed by Latin America (13pc), France (11pc), Spain (9pc) and Eastern Europe/Balkans (8pc).

By contrast, the regions that saw more professionals leave from Ireland were the UK (58pc of outbound talent), United Arab Emirates (16pc), North America (14pc), Switzerland (7pc) and Africa (3pc).

“Talent is the No 1 reason why companies continue to choose to come to Ireland,” said Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland.

“We must ensure that it remains an attractive place to live and work – this is a key differentiator for decision makers across the globe considering an investment in Europe,” Shanahan added.

Traveller silhouette image via Shutterstock