44 ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • Industry News Bridging the Gap: The Role of External Service Companies Across the board, there are thousands of vacancies affecting positions ranging from operatives to engineers. On the one hand, these labour shortages are causing operational efficiency and productivity issues; on the other, they are stifling growth and undermining businesses’ confidence to invest and expand. The financial losses can be staggering. In sectors like food and drink manufacturing, labour shortages have led to a potential loss of billions in revenue for the Irish economy. These financial losses don’t just have an impact on the manufacturers, but also on their supply chains and the wider economy. There are various reasons suggested for the recruitment crisis, ranging from an ageing sector workforce, to a worrying lack of interest in either technical education programmes, or indeed taking up a trade, among the younger generation. One area that has been badly impacted is the service and maintenance sector, which has had a knock-on effect around the performance of critical equipment. Maintaining Production Lines and Equipment Efficiency A Performance in Focus Maintenance Engineering report published in 2024 by RS Integrated Supply in collaboration with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), highlights the main issues. They include attracting and retaining talent, which was cited as one of the major concerns – over and above any wider economic challenges, such as inflation and rising costs. Furthermore, half the maintenance professionals surveyed believe a shortfall in available skilled labour is contributing to an increase in unscheduled downtime. The report goes on to say that it was taking maintenance teams around 15 hours per week to manage these breakdowns, at a reported cost of around €5,471.95 per hour (around €80,000 per week). Equipment breakdowns can have far reaching consequences for manufacturers. As well as delaying order fulfilments, they can also have an impact on product quality, increase operational costs, reduce customer confidence, and diminish competitiveness. It’s unlikely the pressures will ease any time soon, because even as manufacturers start to embrace Industry 4.0 technologies such as automation, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and AI, to modernise their production processes, there is a worrying shortfall in the number of workers who can manage these systems. These advanced technologies are often equipped with machine learning, monitoring, and analytics capabilities, which means that they support predictive maintenance strategies. However, they need skilled teams to operate, maintain and optimise them, while also being able to troubleshoot when the machines encounter unforeseen problems. In fact, software and systems Irish manufacturing is grappling with significant labour and skills shortages that are so severe, they are now disrupting production lines and inflicting substantial financial damage on businesses.
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