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

Chapter 1Exploring the Recruitment ofImmigrant Workers in Ireland:Context and Methodology1. IntroductionOver the past fifteen years or so, immigrants have been a major and verynecessary source of labour supply in the context of Ireland’s rapid economic andemployment growth. Consequently, this is now reflected in increased ethnicallyand culturally diverse workforces, albeit more marked in specific sectors of theeconomy. This presents challenges and opportunities, for both immigrants andemployers, but one of the more positive developments is the growing awarenessof the value of diversity in the workplace and the growing interest in the effectivemanagement of diversity. To date, however, the process of recruiting immigrantworkers and its role in underpinning diversity, as well as in meeting employers’needs, has received very little attention in Ireland. This research attempts to openthis issue for investigation by:1. exploring how Irish employers recruit workers and the implications of thisfor the labour market well-being of immigrants; and2. identifying the challenges and issues related to the recruitment ofimmigrant workers that arise from the process of recruitment itself orfrom the context within which it occurs.The research was commissioned by the Employers’ Diversity Network which iscoordinated by the Public Appointments Service (PAS). The PAS is the centralisedprovider of recruitment, assessment and selection services for the Civil Service andalso provides recruitment and consultancy services to local authorities, the HSE,An Garda Síochána and other public bodies.The PAS is committed to the ongoing development of best practice recruitmentand selection processes that do not unfairly disadvantage any group andthat facilitates and encourages diversity. In order to increase awareness andunderstanding and to improve practice in the area of diversity, the PAS establishedan Employers’ Diversity Network in 2007. This Network is made up of Human7