One in two people in Waterford (52%) say they have been headhunted in the last 12 months, according to new research undertaken by leading Irish recruitment agency, FRS Recruitment. Nationally, 54% of people say they have been headhunted over the last year.
More than 4 out of 10 people in Waterford (43%) also believe that changing jobs is the best way to secure the wage they deserve. On a national basis, 1 in 6 employees say they are willing to change jobs for a pay rise of 10% or less, with the number willing to move rising to almost half of all employees (47%) if a salary increase of 20% is on offer. In Waterford, 93% say they would be willing to move for that much of a raise.
The FRS Recruitment Employment Insights Report, also found half of all people (51%) in Waterford feel they are more likely to progress in their career by moving jobs.
Most of those working in Waterford (55%) believe they could secure a new job in 3 months or less, however, this is down from the 72% in the county who felt they could find new employment within that timeframe when the same question was posed last year.
Three out of 10 people in the Waterford workforce (29%) currently fear for their job security, down from the 37% of people in the county who were worried at this time last year. The Waterford figure is below the national average, with 47% of people across Ireland saying they are worried about their job security.
Three out of four people (77%) in Waterford say they have used Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace. While 3 in 10 locals (31%) also believe that AI will impact or replace their job in the future. This is up on last year, when 23% of people in Waterford were worried about the impact AI may have on their jobs.
On a national level, 8 out of 10 people say they have used AI in the workplace and 47% believe it will impact or replace their job in the future. Those most likely to be using AI in the workplace were in the Education and Training (84%), Hospitality and Tourism (84%) or Agriculture, Farming and Agri-Food (83%) sectors. The lowest usage of AI in the workplace was reported amongst those working in IT (72%), Professional Services (69%) or Pharma and Medical Devices (61%).
The survey also found that 9 in 10 employers in Waterford (89%) are hiring at the moment and 1 out of 6 Waterford-based employees are in their first year of working with their current employer.
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