Can we have it all?
A great career in Big Industry and rural living…
“Are you looking for on-site, hybrid or remote for your next move?”... This is now a standard line I ask all people I am chatting with about a move to a new role. There has been a clear drop in the number of people now looking to work fully on-site, but are people also looking for fully remote?
Within the accounting and finance arena, I am finding that a lot more people are looking for a hybrid-working option. However, people's understanding of "hybrid" varies greatly. For some, it might be a flexible 2-days-a-week in the office, for others a set 3-days-a-month in the office. One thing people are taking from the upheaval of Covid-19 is that options are there!
Are you one of the people that moved down the country during the pandemic and now your Dublin office is looking for you back in 2 days a week? New analysis from Western Development's National Remote Working Survey, in connection with NUIG and Whitaker Institute, has found that, while all counties welcomed new residents, Cork and Galway were the top two destinations for relocation. Of all the people that relocated, they found that 63% of them had left Dublin. It also found that three quarters of them were under the age of 40 years.
The trend clearly identified over the last three years is that many highly skilled and qualified people are moving from cities and urban areas to more rural locations, and subsequently begin to work remotely. Because interacting with others in person is lost through remote working, the Irish government has committed to the development of “Connected Hubs”.
One such initiative is the GTEIC, which is a network of 30 innovation and digital hubs that are being developed by Údarás na Gaeltachta in locations throughout Ireland’s Gaeltacht. The innovation hubs are to be dotted along the majestic Wild Atlantic Way in Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry and Cork, in addition to Waterford and Meath in Ireland’s Ancient East. Six Gaeltacht islands and seven non-Gaeltacht islands also form part of this growing digital ecosystem to support the sustainability of these offshore island communities.
With initiatives like this, maybe we can have our cake and eat it too... in amazing spaces throughout Ireland.
If you are a financial professional interested in making a move to a remote / Hybrid role – get in touch and my team would be delighted to help you in the process.
Bernadette Sisson