A survey of the companies comprising the Geoscience Ireland (GI) business cluster has shown that 128 new jobs were created in the second half of 2017. This brings the overall job creation figure for 2017 to 354, 276 of which were created by SMEs - the largest yearly growth since its inception in 2012.
Building Ireland's reputation as a geoscience centre of excellence
This now brings the total SME job creation figure to more than 750 jobs since GI's launch in 2012 in this highly specialised sector. The creation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) jobs, and building Ireland's reputation as a geoscience centre of excellence, are key objectives of the government and Geological Survey Ireland (GSI).
"The sustained job growth of the Geoscience Ireland member companies is impressive and reflects buoyant domestic and export markets," said Sean Kyne TD, Minister of State for Natural Resources.
"In addition to a focus on job numbers, GI also emphasises support for building robust companies providing professional STEM jobs, where good design provides world class facilities and services that create many more jobs downstream.
"My department looks forward to offering our continued support to the GI initiative and, along with Enterprise Ireland, will provide the means necessary for Irish companies to win business in overseas markets."
In terms of regional growth, Co Galway performed strongest with 43 net new jobs created in 2017 by GI members (Priority Drilling, Pavement Management Systems, TOBIN Consulting Engineers and Irish Drilling) which are headquartered in the county. GI members ARUP and Byrne Looby also have branch offices in Co Galway.
Winning business in overseas target markets
GI will continue to work closely with Enterprise Ireland (EI) in assisting its members in winning business in overseas target markets including mature markets such as the UK, the Nordics and North America, and emerging markets including eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.
In its 2017 'End of Year Statement', Enterprise Ireland noted engineering and construction were among the sectors which delivered the largest job increases.
The majority of Enterprise Ireland client companies also stated plans to enter the eurozone for the first time in the coming year as a Brexit response.
GI continues to support Brexit diversification and, in the first quarter of 2018, will be attending mining and development trade shows in Cape Town and Toronto, and will also commence a pan-European geothermal energy research programme supported by the European Commission's COSME programme.