Engineers with specific skills are still needed in Ireland, despite the fact the country is currently seeing an unemployment rate of 15 per cent.

According to CareersPortal.ie, there were 1,200 engineering vacancies in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sectors in March, while one recruitment firm was looking for 200 people to fill its positions.

Hewlett Packard is currently struggling to find software developers, while Vodafone is looking to fill technical and analytical roles, the site said.

One commenter said that the country needed to ensure talent produced by Ireland's universities is retained in order to supply businesses with employees who have the skills they require.

Gerard O'Neill, an economist and chairman of Amarach Research, said: "Emigration is the most pressing issue facing this country, because we are bleeding ourselves dry of skilled young people."

A recent report from the Central Statistics Office showed that in March, unemployment in Ireland remained unchanged in the month, resting at 14.7 per cent, with 441,193 people signing onto the Live Register.

Posted by Alex Donnell