Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of ...

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at 24 per cent (and just 22 per cent use this as a basis for short-listing, seebelow). Nonetheless, the variation in the experiences and perceptions ofimmigrants in relation to this issue discussed in the previous section andthe view of employers regarding their own practices is substantial.• Entitlement to work in Ireland: Where formal eligibility criteria aredrawn up and communicated to job applicants, these invariably includethe legal entitlement to work in Ireland. Some organisations require thisstatus to be in place at the time of application, which means that onlythose immigrants with entitlement to work are eligible to apply. Forother organisations, it is sufficient that such entitlement can be securedsubsequent to job offer, through the work permit or green card system.As discussed further below, it seems the more sought after the skill set,the greater flexibility employers will demonstrate on this issue.• Citizenship status: Within the civil service, citizenship of EEA countries ispart of the eligibility criteria for many roles. While this is seen as a majorbarrier to potential applicants from outside of the EEA, it is currentlya requirement for all general services grades within the civil service.Interestingly, the Defence Forces have recently changed the eligibilitycriteria for entry to the Cadets: previously only Irish citizens were entitledto apply, now, eligibility has been extended to all those who are legallypresent in Ireland and have five years experience of lawful residence inIreland.• Proficiency in Irish: Within the public sector, there are a number of areaswhere competence in Irish is required such as for Primary school teaching,and librarian positions. Until recently Irish was also a requirement for AnGarda Síochána, although this was amended to facilitate greater diversity.While Irish is now a requirement for a very limited range of jobs inthe public service, the misperception amongst some immigrants, andindeed amongst Irish that it is a requirement for a broad range of rolesrepresents a barrier.50Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of Immigrant Workers in Ireland
Responding to the Irish Language RequirementAn innovative response to the issue of the Irish language requirementfor entry into An Garda Síochána was taken in 2005 when measureswere announced to remove the requirement for having passed a leavingcertificate or equivalent examination in the Irish language and to deem non-Irish nationals who had a qualifying grade in two languages (one of whichwas English or Irish) eligible to apply. This facilitated non-Irish nationalswho had not previously studied Irish to apply to become Garda Trainees.As a basic level of competence in Irish is seen as a requirement of the job,successful applicants with no knowledge of Irish can instead learn thelanguage as part of their training period in Templemore.3.2.3 Advertising Vacancies and Attracting Applicants.A very wide range of advertising avenues were used by employers and in someinstances the nature of the job determined the avenue used. In general, the mostcommon advertising mechanisms were the Irish national press, the organisation’sown website and other job related websites. Where specialist positions areinvolved, organisations frequently advertise in the professional or trade journals orthrough specialist recruitment agencies. Smaller employers noted that they oftenhave no need to advertise because of the frequent number of ‘cold callers’ many ofwhom are immigrants. Where it is necessary, frequently used mechanisms amongsmaller companies include using existing employees (although this is used bysome larger companies too) and using industry networks. Very few companiessurveyed or consulted with used avenues of recruitment specifically tailored toimmigrants.Among those surveyed:• 57 per cent used national newspapers,• 52 per cent used recruitment websites,• 50 per cent used referral by existing employees• 39 per cent used their own website• 30 per cent used local newspapers,• 20 per cent used professional journals• 8 per cent used free newspapers• 3 per cent said they used immigrant publications51
Page 2: 2Issues and Challenges in the Recru
Page 7: Chapter 1Exploring the Recruitment
Page 10 and 11: persecution. Economic migrants enco
Page 12 and 13: • The third group is the so-calle
Page 14 and 15: • Green Cards, which have replace
Page 16 and 17: Employment Services (LES) although
Page 18 and 19: Unemployment is not the only issue
Page 20 and 21: Overall, both official statistics a
Page 22 and 23: issues from the perspective of thes
Page 24 and 25: and facilitate integration and, equ
Page 26 and 27: Chapter 2Looking for work in Irelan
Page 28 and 29: and longer term aspirations with th
Page 30 and 31: In terms of public sector 6 employm
Page 32 and 33: immigrant communities have come to
Page 34 and 35: on courses they do not want to do a
Page 36 and 37: 2.6.1 Communication issuesAmong the
Page 38 and 39: • There was also the view that Ir
Page 40 and 41: • Freedom of movement for the cit
Page 42 and 43: • what they see as the reluctance
Page 44 and 45: are employed. By the end of the sec
Page 46 and 47: large organisations are more likely
Page 48 and 49: other occupations such as youth wor
Page 52 and 53: Other mechanisms to recruit foreign
Page 54 and 55: In large volume recruitment campaig
Page 56 and 57: Innovation in the use of testsIrish
Page 58 and 59: 3.2.7 VettingThe vetting of candida
Page 60 and 61: that considered foreign workers to
Page 62 and 63: Chapter 4Conclusions and Discussion
Page 64 and 65: of recruitment should be more integ
Page 66 and 67: Table 4.1:Divergent views of Employ
Page 68 and 69: Perceive written andlanguage based
Page 70 and 71: as either a basis for determining e
Page 72 and 73: It is reasonable to assume that in
Page 74 and 75: Of more specific relevance to the c
Page 76 and 77: public sector employers) as well as
Page 78 and 79: BibliographyBarrett, A and Y McCart
Page 80: O’Connell, P and F McGinnity (200
Page 84: Public Appointments ServiceChapter

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