According to new research, a number of roles within Northern Ireland’s labour market are enjoying pay rises of up to 10% as a consequence of skilled labour shortages.
A recent 2020 salary survey conducted by recruitment firm Brightwater has revealed that the majority of people seeing their pay rise as a result of labour shortages tend to be employed in positions such as automation engineering, supply chain work as well as warehouse and transport management.
With regards to accountancy, finance and IT, the survey would suggest that salary rises of 3% to 5% could be expected for people employed in these sectors. Similar levels of salary growth are also predicted for jobs in engineering and supply chain logistics with the survey quoting current salaries for project engineers from £32,000 to £45,000.
Speaking on the issue was economist Maureen O'Reilly who claimed that Northern Ireland’s labour market appeared to “perform well” despite the current economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit. O’Reilly also noted that the labour market’s performance was better than expected considering the fact that the region hasn’t had a functioning Assembly since 2017.
Brightwater’s survey also found the National Living Wage to have increased to £8.21 per hour. Those working long hours in minimum wage employment were found to be making just as much money as the middle management participants of the survey.
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Regional Director of Brightwater, Cathal O’Donnell said Northern Ireland’s job market remained "dynamic" despite Brexit uncertainties. He said the food industry was seeing a greater variety of roles, so that students were now taking more creative courses at the agricultural colleges of Loughry and CAFRE to learn about product development and the environmental impact of food.
O’Donnell said that what showed the “positive impact regional colleges can have working in partnership with local industry" was the fact that it was "these highly qualified professionals that are now driving the Northern Ireland food industry forward.”
Highlighting the economic impact of Brexit on the labour market in some sectors, O’Donnell went on to say that "the transport industry is now recruiting customs specialists and finding these candidates when there is a generation who never needed to know about such regulations is proving very difficult." The survey would suggest growth in this sector would remain almost stagnant until late 2020.
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