Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Job hunting or effectively managing your career can be really tough at the best of times but during a pandemic where do you start? What can you do when restrictions and the impact on industries are changing daily. The Government is offering some support but this will have varying degrees of relief depending on your own financial commitments and responsibilities.
During this unique time, we will be following the daily changes and their implications on the different sectors. We will be highlighting any positive information in relation to career opportunities, training, self-management, leadership and personal development during these unprecedented times.
Specialised Recruitment Site
Biomedical Technology and MedTech industries
The Irish Biomedical Technology and MedTech Sector and the Biological Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science Sector has never been more important to the country and will be at the forefront in helping to fight the war against COVID-19. The instruments, medical devices and pharmaceutical which they produce here in Ireland will be used in hospitals across the county to treat those who will be most seriously affected by this Coronavirus pandemic.
With over 450 companies exporting €12.6bn worth of product annually and employing 36,000 people, the Biomedical Technology and MedTech Sector represent an important and growing sector of the Irish economy. Exports of medical devices and diagnostic products represent 8% of Ireland’s total merchandise exports.
Medtronic, an Irish-headquartered medical device company founded in 1989 with facilities in Dublin and Galway is just one of these companies. It is one of the world’s biggest makers of life-saving ventilators and it will be more than doubling its 250-strong workforce at its Galway manufacturing facility to meet the increased demand for ventilators, which play an important role in treating patients with severe cases of Covid-19.
Ventilators are considered critical in the fight against the Covid-19 disease as they permit an infected person’s lungs to rest while the machine supplies oxygen and stimulates breathing. According to IDA Ireland, 50%of ventilators used in acute hospitals worldwide are made in Ireland.
There is a shortage of intensive care unit ventilators across the globe to deal with the expected surge in patients who become critically ill and need oxygen and breathing assistance to survive.
Keep up with opportunities with MedTronic in Ireland as they become available, click here for more.
Irish company Assay Genie are preparing to release a rapid COVID-19 testing kit that will provide results in just 15 minutes, a fraction of the time current swabbing tests take to produce an outcome.
The new testing kit was produced by UCD Biochemistry alumni Colm Ryan and Sean Mac Fhearraigh after identifying the rapid spread in the diseases’ Chinese epicentre.
You can read their full story from the Irish Independent here.
Similarly, an Irish project to develop an easy-to-assemble mechanical ventilator using 3-D printers, that can be used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, is rapidly progressing.
The Open Source Ventilator project will be a scaled-down version of a conventional ventilator but could prove to be crucial for local emergencies or used in under-resourced nations.
Learn more about this project here and its progression by clicking here.
To learn more about the Biomedical Technology and MedTech industries in Ireland and the opportunities that await you click here.
The Biological Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences sector is also playing a really important part in the fight against this pandemic. Many of the important drugs which will be used to try and fight this virus are manufactured here in Ireland. With 10 of the world’s largest companies based in Ireland, this sector directly employs over 30,000 people.
Limerick-based pharmaceutical company Regeneron is working alongside its sister plant in New York to develop a “full suite of medicines” as it launches clinical test trials on critically ill coronavirus patients in the hope of developing a life-saving vaccine.
The company, which employs around 1,000 people at its European headquarters at the Raheen Industrial Estate, said it had “identified hundreds of virus-neutralising antibodies” from mice as well as people who have recovered from Covid-19.
It “plans to initiate large-scale manufacturing by mid-April with antibody cocktail therapy, with potential to enter human clinical studies by early summer”.
Regeneron is actively seeking staff to help combat the COVID-19 crisis. Find out more about job opportunities here: https://careers.regeneron.com/
Retail
Musgrave Group to Hire Hundreds in Major Recruitment Drive
Retail group Musgrave have launched a recruitment drive for hundreds of temporary staff across their SuperValu and Centra stores and warehouses nationwide.
This appeal is targeted at those who have recently found themselves permanently or temporarily laid off from their jobs due to the COVID-19 outbreak, reaching out in particular to those from the hospitality sector.
Experience in areas such as retail, working with fresh food and produce, hospitality, warehouse and distribution or commercial driving would be an advantage, but applications are still open to all.
To view the available roles across each area follow the links below:
ALDI
Supermarket chain ALDI are set to launch a major recruitment drive across Ireland in the next few days with the aim of ensuring that high levels of service will be maintained throughout this uncertain period. Those working in our supermarkets and retail outlets are some of our unsung heroes at this time. “Retail is going to be at the frontline of the battle against Covid-19 as we head into the weeks before us,” said John Curtin, Aldi’s group buying director.
To see available jobs with ALDI and to keep up to date with new vacancies as they become available click here.
HSE
Unemployment Benefits
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment is a new social welfare payment for employees and self-employed people who have lost their employment during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
You can apply for the payment if you are aged between 18 and 66 and have lost all your employment due to the coronavirus restrictions. Students can apply for the payment.
The new payment aims to get a social welfare payment to unemployed people quickly.
Coronavirus Volunteering Options
If you have an urge to help and are not in the risk group there are many ways to lend a helping hand.
