March 2023 Newsletter – Easter eggs, extra daylight and trophies, what is not to love?
March was a long month but made very sweet with a bank holiday and a Grand Slam win. Of all the videos we watched around St Patricks Day, this was our favourite, produced by the Dept of Foreign Affairs to mark our 100 years as a Republic.
April is the month for new starts including Spring cleaning - sorting out wardrobes & cupboards to fixing up your garden while enjoying brighter evenings. There are holidays to plan, projects to complete and very soon Easter eggs to eat! Oh and a bank holiday on 10th April, nice!
We thought the ‘Tech Wreck’ layoffs had reached their peak in February, how wrong we were. Unfortunately, it continues with Amazon, Accenture, Mediahuis, Workhuman and more from Facebook. Let’s hope we get to the end of the ‘correction’ asap. Here’s an interesting article from The Irish Times on the subject…Here
It's all change at the top for Waystone too, who saw that coming?! Good article on it here
March saw the closing of Silicon Valley Bank, the selling of Credit Suisse and the question of contagion. Are there more to come? Let’s hope not. Find out a bit more about how & why it happened to SVB, here. On a brighter note in this sector, there is some healthy competition in the form of Revolut launching loans, credit cards and car insurance.
We were invited to the Guaranteed Irish Awards this month. It was a great opportunity for Irish companies to showcase their products. If you work for an Irish company, maybe you would consider becoming a member? The CEO Brid O’Connell is inspirational and definitely worth meeting if you get a chance!
President Joe Biden, it seems, is on his way over for the Good Friday Agreement anniversary. Landing on the 12th April for a few days. It’s a countrywide tour with the hopes of covering Belfast, Mayo, Louth & Dublin.
This time last year we had Micheál Martin, Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon at the top, today we have Leo Varadkar, Rishi Sunak and Humza Yousaf. What a difference a year makes! Read more with this CNN article.
In what (hopefully) is a sign of things to come, South County Dublin council has approved a major housing scheme of 376 units in Citywest but has stipulated that the 200 houses and duplexes must be bought by “individual buyers”.
Ever fancied yourself as CEO material – some useful insights and checklists in this McKinsey blog.
So now we know, Carl Mullan has won DWTS. Oscar success for An Irish Goodbye (Best live action short film) & Richard Baneham (Special Effects – Avatar, this was his second time winning, absolutely amazing!). We really hope this is the beginning of many mega Oscar nights for Ireland. In other movie news we see that Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson and Ciaran Hinds are filming Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These in Wexford.
Looking for a movie date this month? Here are the new releases at the Odeon this month. Galway Theatre company Druid is performing all three Sean O’Casey’s plays in one day? Can you handle it? It's probably a once in a life time opportunity! Read on here. Tickets are on sale here
Succession Season 4 (and final season) has been released. By all accounts it’s fabulous. Anyone opening a book on the new Late Late Show presenter – short odds on it being a woman from what we’re hearing. Our bets are on Claire Byrne, followed by Sarah McInerney. May the best woman win.
Where have all the accountants gone? A recent CPA report in the US believes graduates taking accounting subjects is down by about 17%! This means the industry is doing everything it can to become more attractive to graduates. We liked this option from ATI - 150 accountancy jobs to be created with apprenticeship programme - Independent.ie
We’re fans of apprenticeships as it offers an alternative route to qualifications to those for whom the traditional college route is unsuitable or undesirable. It also gives mature ‘converts’ a paid route to a new career. Very inclusive indeed!
Here’s this month’s recommendations for some on-line diversion while you eat your lunch!
- The most popular websites in the world! Visit them here
- This gorgeous website dedicated to showcasing the beauty and adventure of Ireland's countryside, including scenic drives, hiking trails, and hidden gems.
- Are you beach body ready for your holiday? I know I am not and having trawled lots of sites, this is the one I’ll be reading to get started
- Looking to develop yourself or your team, check out Skillsnet Ireland to see if they can help add value & retain your talent
- Two minutes, 14 seconds of nature - nest building and babies, beautiful - Timelapse video here.
Perhaps enough has been written, said and toasted about Ireland’s Grand Slam which unforgettably put the icing on a great St. Patrick’s weekend. The final game was a tad nervier than we’d have liked but class showed in the end and we were at least spared the usual nail-biting last 5 minutes that Ireland has traditionally treated us to! Big shout out also to the Under 20’s who achieved an incredible feat of back-to-back Grand Slams, hopefully a great sign for the future of Irish rugby – roll on the World Cup.
Cheltenham went very much the way of the Irish and the key numbers were – Ireland 10 Vs 6 GB winners, Top trainer - Willie Mullins (6), Top Jockey – Paul Townend (5) and Top owner – JP McManus (4). I know quite a few of our readers were there for the action, hopefully they all came back with wallets at least intact if not bulging.
Arsenal seems to be doing the business in keeping City at bay in the Premiership title race but it only takes a couple of shaky results to put the title back on the line. Both Manchester’s are chasing trebles and there is a real chance of a City Vs United FA Cup final this May.
F1 is off and running but already there are indications that this is going to be a Red Bull 1-2 procession for Verstappen/Perez with Fernando Alonso also making the podium on each of the first two starts. All eyes will be on the Hamilton/Mercedes season as it is a racing certainty (pun intended) that if their results don’t improve soon Lewis will be driving for someone else next year.
Mayo and Galway are vying for top-spot in Division 1 of the Allianz Football league, Mayo have a 2 point lead and a significant points difference at this stage but the real story of Division 1 so far is the implosion of Donegal who are anchored at the bottom and have just lost their manager Paddy Carr after the dreaded ‘meeting with players’.
In the hurling Cork top Division 1a but the eye-catching team is Tipperary who head Division 1b with a perfect record and a massive points difference for this free-scoring side. Could be an interesting fight for the Liam McCarthy this year.
And the Ireland v France football match wasn't too bad either!
Maybe it’s your turn this month. Could this be the time when you are looking at making that career change? If so, we’re happy to highlight some of the great roles we have open here at PeopleSource and if any of them appeal to you (or a friend), we’d love to hear from you. Remember, this list changes daily and is not exhaustive. It's always best to pick up the phone and have an initial chat. Equally, if you’re looking to make a hire for your team we have a great pool of active candidates who could be your next game-changer.
Each month we ask our readers to answer a question for a chance to win €100 One4all voucher. Our question for the February newsletter was:
Do you believe the worst of the layoffs are behind us? Yes/No
And the results were:
Yes – 60%
No - 40%
And the winner of our voucher is – Darren Holmes – we’ll be in touch!
Our question for the March newsletter is...
Have you ever successfully (i.e.they secured a job) referred a friend for a role with your employer? Yes/No
The winner will be chosen at random and will receive €100 One4All voucher. Enter here to be in with a chance to win.
If you would like regular updates follow our LinkedIn company page.
PeopleSource is a specialist finance & accounting recruitment firm.
