Laois job opportunities to jump says big recruitment agency with Portlaoise office

Laois job hunters can expect employment opportunities to increase in 2025 according to a big recruitment agency which has an office in Portlaoise.

FRS Recruitment, one of the country’s leading recruitment agencies, is forecasting a 7% growth in recruitment opportunities in Laois businesses and other workplaces this year.

It's general manager said a "significant number" of Laois employers "have openings" available or are preparing to bring them to market in the "near future".

A statement said that in Laois, the sectors expected to see the strongest growth will be healthcare, commercial and industrial.

Some of the specific roles FRS Recruitment is expecting to see become available locally include openings for radiographers, social care personnel, clerical officers, general operatives as well as warehouse staff.

FRS, which has an office in The Cube, said the increased job opportunities locally and nationally comes with several positive factors likely to influence recruitment across the economy in 2025.

It said these include the anticipated fall in interest rates, the IT sector recovery, more employers seeking to grow their teams after consolidating in 2024, more flexibility in the market with candidates seeking out new opportunities and the removal of the public sector hiring freeze in healthcare.

FRS, which is led by Coolrain man and its CEO Colin Donnery, noted significant growth in roles coming to market in the last quarter of 2024 in Laois and other parts of the country, with employers already signalling a strong pipeline of demand for new staff for the year ahead.

On a national basis they also expect to see a 10% increase in recruitment around the country. While nationally IT, healthcare, commercial, industrial, life sciences, agribusiness and construction are expected to see significant growth.

Lynne McCormack, General Manager of FRS Recruitment, spoke about the outlook.

“We certainly think there will be an increase in recruitment opportunities coming to market in Laois and around the country this year. There is more optimism in the market from employers and candidates alike. We saw this start to come through at the end of 2024 and our full expectation is that will continue locally and nationally throughout 2025.

“For example we already have a significant number of employers in Laois who either have openings available or are preparing to bring them to market in the near future. They are making plans to grow their teams and we fully expect to see quite a bit of movement locally, especially in sectors like healthcare, commercial and industrial.

“This comes after a very challenging year for recruitment in 2024, both in Laois and beyond. There was certainly a strong degree of caution in the marketplace last year as employers decided to concentrate on maintaining their existing teams and asking their staff to do more in light of wider economic concerns, high interest rates, cost of business challenges and other considerations. Qualified candidates were also taking a similar outlook, with many potential candidates seeking to enhance their terms and conditions with their existing employers rather than pursuing fresh opportunities. Candidates were primarily playing it safe.

“However we can already see that perspective has shifted. We’ve had a range of highly qualified candidates reach out to us either side of Christmas expressing their desire to be considered should new opportunities become available this year. There is also a strong pipeline of recruitment activity coming from employers locally. All things considered we expect this will lead to a rise in recruitment activity in Laois and around the country throughout 2025 and there will be a lot more opportunities both coming to market and being successfully filled this year,” Ms McCormack concluded.

FRS Recruitment has 10 offices nationwide, with locations in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Tipperary, Limerick, Kerry, Kilkenny, Offaly, Cavan and Portlaoise. A 100% Irish business, FRS Recruitment is part of the FRS Co-Op.