Electric.ie March April 2021

ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 25 Industry News 79% of engineering companies in Ireland planning to recruit in 2021 T he report, based on a survey of engineering professionals and organisations across Ireland, also found that the engineering sector has remained resilient in the worst of the pandemic last year, with two-thirds – particularly electrical, electronic and public administration engineers – actually increasing their salary in 2020, and 81% saying they had not been in receipt of Covid-19 wage subsidies at any point since the onset of the pandemic. Some engineering-related activity in ICT and pharmaceuticals also experienced strong growth in 2020. Utility organisations (which include electricity, water, gas and telecommunications) were most optimistic about 2021, with 94% ർ 79% of engineering organisations are planning to recruit new staff in 2021 despite the severe impact of Covid-19 and Brexit, a new Engineers Ireland report has said. looking to hire engineers in the year ahead. With Covid-19 restrictions hitting construction hard since the pandemic started, the report found civil and building engineers were more impacted than the average engineer, although the proportion of those on a state wage subsidy did not exceed 25%. This compares favourably with the generally high rates availing of wage subsidies across and professional, scientific and technical activities. The fourth in the annual series, ‘Engineering 2021: A barometer of the profession in Ireland’ report was launched as Engineers Ireland’s ‘STEPS Engineers Week 2021’ kicked off featuring hundreds of online events across for young people, their families and teachers. Engineers Ireland President, Maurice Buckley, commented: “Engineers and engineering organisations across the various economic sectors demonstrated great resilience throughout the very challenging year of 2020. The results presented in this report show that the profession remains robust in terms of remuneration, job opportunities and outlook in the face of the pandemic, Brexit and the general economic strain. As we look optimistically to 2021 and beyond, there are currently plenty of job opportunities in the engineering sector in Ireland according to our members, although there is understandably more uncertainty than at this time last year.” Engineers Ireland publishes 2021 Salary Survey T he annual publication by Engineers Ireland, accessible to members only, presents up-to- date information on the salary levels and employment benefits received by engineers employed in Ireland. The information contained within the report was collected through an online survey which received 1,956 responses from Engineers Ireland members in January 2021. ർ Despite challenging economic conditions, two-thirds of engineers increased their salary in the past year according to findings published today in Engineers Ireland’s 2021 Salary Survey. In addition to general trends in salaries and employment benefits, such as maternity and paternity leave, the report also highlighted the additional remuneration received by engineers who achieve Registered Professional Titles. The report found that Chartered Engineers can expect to earn approximately €5,000 per year more than an engineer without a professional title with the same number of years of experience. Chartered Engineers, with more than 15 years’ experience, who become Fellows of Engineers Ireland can also expect to earn an additional €15,000- 20,000 per year. Members can access key report insights ranging from annual pay to pension contributions, annual bonus figures and more at https://www.engineersireland.ie/