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20,000 Irish line up for hours at working abroad jobs fair for a chance of a new life - PHOTOS

Canada the top destination for Irish - Organizers forced to limit access for safety reasons

By
PATRICK COUNIHAN,
IrishCentral Staff Writer
Published Monday, March 5, 2012, 7:05 AM
Updated Monday, March 12, 2012, 11:43 AM

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Queue waiting to get inside the job expo
Queue waiting to get inside the job expo
Photo by Photocall


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Working Abroad Expo, RDS, Dublin 2012 slideshow

Desperate jobseekers queued for almost five hours before the doors opened on Ireland’s latest Working Abroad Expo in Dublin.

At one stage, organisers had to send people away from the RDS complex in Dublin because there was no chance they’d even gain admission to the event.

Over 20,000 people attended the two day exhibition as would be emigrants sought the chance to leave Ireland’s economic woes behind.

Visitors paid $14 each to view the job opportunities on offer from 80 recruiters and government officials from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Canada was the number one destination as far as the majority of those looking for work were concerned.

Those visiting the stall set-up by provincial government of Saskatchewan in Canada’s mid-west were able to quiz Irish ex-pats Howard Morrissey (35) and his wife Sinead (40) from Tipperary.

The Morrisseys attended the same fair in 2009 and were drawn to the prospects of a new life in Canada with their daughter Cara.

They now live in the province’s largest city of Regina and are employed in the building and communications industries respectively.

“It’s booming. The quality of life is good. And when your kids finish school or university, they’ll get jobs,” said Howard Morrissey.

“The weather does take getting used to but you cope. It’s a different lifestyle, different surroundings, so you just have to be open-minded and adapt.

“Regina, with a population of around 200,000, is not a big metropolis like Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal. But the province’s thriving economy is based on potash mining, oil and gas and traditional agriculture.

“That’s what’s fuelling the boom. Not like here during the Celtic Tiger where it was a fake boom and they were building houses for the sake of building houses.”

Asked if they will ever return to Ireland, Morrissey replied “What’s there to come back for?”

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Over 80 exhibitors were at the event in Dublin looking for suitable candidates for jobs in construction, farming and health care.

Entry was ticket-only on Sunday as people flocked to the RDS to see what employment opportunities are available abroad.

It was a huge success for some of the foreign recruiters at the Expo, who will get their pick of top Irish talent to fill positions.

“The company I work for got about 150 CVs yesterday and will be delighted to receive the same today,” Charlie Melia, who is helping a Canadian company recruit doctors, told journal.ie on Sunday.

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40 Comments

15 - 40 | See all comments

ciaradexy | Mar 07, 2012, 02:39 PM EST
Cycleguy55, Ive already had a job offer for there as I attended a jobs fare about a year ago. I was also offered wirk with Fraser Health in Vancouver, Cedar Sinai in LA and St Vincents Hospital in Sydney. My qualification is very highly thought of around the world luckily enough but my family is here and I have a job so Im not planning on moving away. I have friends working in all those countries as medical scientists. The US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia are crying out for lab staff as there arent enough people from these countries studying for these jobs. I couldnt live in Saskatchewan anyway because Id need to be near the sea wherever I was living!

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Gaelphoncán | Mar 07, 2012, 11:34 AM EST
It's possible the only Europhiles left in Ireland are in coalition government (and in FF), IrelandNorth. The part of Inis Fhodla where my permanent address is one the island's worst unemployment black spots, George. George, what do you do for a living in the U.S.? I know you're an Irish citizen and you seem very concerned with the welfare of Ireland. Are you a financially independent entrepreneur? Why don't you go to Ireland and start a business? You could start up a business in the Irish language sector and benefit the plain (Irish-speaking) people of Ireland.

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IrelandNorth | Mar 07, 2012, 07:43 AM EST
Would be interesting to know what the correlation is between immigration and emigration to/from Ireland. A bit like the birth to death ratio for population statistics. If births excceed deaths - over population! If immigration exceeds emigration - unemployment! Basic maths surely? But whatever happened the great European Union experiment. And where are all the Europhiles now when the bubble has burst.

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GeorgeDillon | Mar 06, 2012, 02:37 PM EST
Gaelphoncan: "there are very, very few foreigners working in shops, restaurants, hotels, etc." Where is that? It's certainly very atypical, because I travel all over Ireland and wherever I go there are huge numbers of migrant workers. That's why it's so hard to take the Irish unemployment "crisis" seriously. There are obviously lots of jobs, I still don't know why the Irish are not demanding they be given them in their own country. There is no doubt that Mass Immigration has been a complete disaster for Ireland, and it was the Irish ruling class, surely the worst in Europe, who brought it about.

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jmccarten | Mar 06, 2012, 02:06 PM EST
Hypocracy at it's worst. "Irish Need Not Apply" Here is a real story about this issue. A English friend of mine who had a job in America had to leave because his work VISA expired. But President Obama whom you Irish love for some reason, has adopted the following immigration policy.He instructed the Justice Department that they will only deport Hispanics if they had committed a felony and went to prison or jail; otherwise they cannot be deported. So, millions of mostly uneducated illegal Hispanic immigrants were given "backdoor" amnesty and are allowed to reamin in America. However, an educated Irishman with a college degree is denied entry into the United States. Unfair, you bet, but he desperately needs the Hispanic vote to get reelected. So the Irish suffer.

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mumbleyou | Mar 06, 2012, 02:03 PM EST
I have to agree with MichaelMcGrath about the "sloppy" appreance of the people pictured. I also didn't notice many of the assembled with CV/Resumes in their hands. Anytime I ever went to a jobfair I dressed appropriately and came prepared. This shows a little respect to the potential employer.

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Gaelphoncán | Mar 06, 2012, 06:45 AM EST
I've applied for a job in North America, and please God, if I get offered that job, I won't hesitate to accept it. (By the way, I've a good friend who drives buses in Dublin and he loves it (or at least he did the last time I spoke to him, maybe he's fed up with it by now)). GeorgeDillon, in the part of Ireland where I live (i.e. where my house and permanent address are), there are very, very few foreigners working in shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. It's overwhelmingly local Irish people (not Eastern Europeans or Africans). I've got African friends who are (well-educated and) unemployed and they're frustrated they can't find any kind of work in Ireland either (some of them have gone back to Africa). For some (some, not all) of the younger Irish, emigration is a choice and an adventure. For those who (like me) are not so young (and who have bills and a mortgage to pay), leaving Ireland can be a grim necessity. My heart goes out to them. I thank God for Skype but you always feel lonely and homesick when the conversation ends.

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Gaelphoncán | Mar 06, 2012, 06:40 AM EST
I left Ireland last summer but only after a long, extended period of unemployment (the longest I've ever been unemployed. I was living in Ireland in the late 80s and it was bad but it didn't seem as bad as things are now) and because the bills and debts were piling up. I was very much a reluctant emigrant. I graduated from an Irish university with a first and did a PhD but it doesn't mean much if you don't know the right people (and anyone who lives in Ireland knows what I'm talking about). I applied for literally hundreds of jobs (I spent a small fortune travelling to Dublin for interviews), ones related to my qualifications and skills but also (locally) for jobs in Tescos, Dunnes, Argos, etc. anywhere I thought I had a chance of earning a few bob. I even went to the local Centras and told them I would work any day, any shift (including the all-night shift). Because I had worked outside of Ireland a few years, I wasn't entitled to the broo (it's a long, complicated story) so I had no income (apart from very occasional freelance work, not enough to live on). I was short-listed to the final two (the job was between me and someone else) three times in jobs in my field and lost out each time. I eventually got an offer of gainful employment in a country far, far from Ireland and I accepted it (reluctantly).

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GeorgeDillon | Mar 06, 2012, 06:03 AM EST
Yes, PLEASE, curdexter, "talk to Saskatchewan Health". And Manitoba. And Ontario. And, best of all, the Yukon Territory. The further away from Ireland the better in your case--your kind of racist bigotry has nothing to offer Ireland.

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staker42 | Mar 05, 2012, 09:06 PM EST
Ciaradixy. You clearly have not had the experiences that I or many others that I know have had.

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cycleguy55 | Mar 05, 2012, 06:50 PM EST
Worth noting the second day in Cork will NOT happen - participants were told that Monday morning. As such, the Expo in Cork will be a one day event - Wednesday, March 7.

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cycleguy55 | Mar 05, 2012, 06:32 PM EST
@ciaradexy: Sounds like you're a possible candidate for Saskatchewan Health, providing you have relevant work experience. Did you go to the job fair on the weekend? Talk to Saskatchewan Health?

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sirpeter | Mar 05, 2012, 06:27 PM EST
Irish Bus drivers are the 6th best paid drivers in the world, earning an average of €33,000 per annum and earn about 30% more than their counterparts in London.That's kinda crap money.Still I'd hate to be a bus driver in London.London isn't a cheap place to live.

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Curitiba | Mar 05, 2012, 05:38 PM EST
They used to pay good money to drive buses one time, Ciara, but not any more, that's why nobody wants to do it. I don't think anybody wants to drive one for rubbish money, but give me €1000 a week and I'd be happy to do a few shifts!

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ciaradexy | Mar 05, 2012, 04:47 PM EST
Major in histopatholgy, minor in haematology/blood transfusion. Look them up. Should I work waiting tables or migrate to find work in my chosen career if I need to?

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