In a year that has been dominated by the dark cloud of ongoing Brexit negotiations, employment in many of Ireland’s top agri-food companies has been a ray of light with 2,395 new jobs created.In dairy and meat processors alike, employment has shown strong growth. Kepak, Glanbia, Dawn Meats and Kerry have all seen major job creation in 2017, complemented by growth in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
In a year that has been dominated by the dark cloud of ongoing Brexit negotiations, employment in many of Ireland’s top agri-food companies has been a ray of light with 2,395 new jobs created.
In dairy and meat processors alike, employment has shown strong growth. Kepak, Glanbia, Dawn Meats and Kerry have all seen major job creation in 2017, complemented by growth in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
In our survey of 70 companies, 2,395 jobs were created across a number of industries. This included over 200 graduate positions, over 130 student and intern roles, as well as 780 seasonal workers. Next year is already looking promising, with 1,485 jobs expected at this early stage. This forecast is across 37 companies.
The demand for jobs in 2017 in agriculture is possibly best represented by the major uptake in seasonal jobs by the recruiter FRS Recruitment, which took on 221 people, 200 of these seasonal workers, in order to cope with agricultural demand.
What is clear is that jobs are being created in the agricultural industry. This focus provides a snapshot of the industry and its performance in 2017.
And with close to 1,500 new roles in the pipeline for 2018 in 37 companies, the signs at this early stage are encouraging.
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