By Peta Conn
Executive Vice President, Head of Americas at Invest Northern Ireland

One of our primary roles at Invest Northern Ireland is attracting foreign direct investment into Northern Ireland, the region of the UK that’s uniquely located on the island of Ireland. This means helping US companies expand internationally by building teams from Northern Ireland’s highly talented workforce, then providing guidance and support throughout the lifespan of their investment.

This past fall, five US companies announced first-time expansions into Northern Ireland. This equates to 383 new jobs that will help those businesses fill crucial talent gaps so they can continue growing and innovating.

These announcements were the result of a huge amount of time and effort from Invest NI team members in the US and HQ, but they were also the result of a couple of truths: First, successful business always comes down to hiring great talent. Second, lockdowns across the globe have forced companies to accept, if not embrace, a new era of decentralized workforces.

The pandemic has shown us that location is a relative term. With technology, global teams can now collaborate as if they were sitting together in corporate headquarters. Typically, when it comes to building new teams or bolstering existing ones, US companies will first look to hire near their HQ or in cities with existing offices before broadening their search across the US then maybe looking internationally. However, while overseas expansion seems daunting, especially for those that haven’t yet ventured abroad, it might actually be your most sensible, cost-effective option.

In the United States, the demand for talent is outpacing supply—especially for highly coveted technical skills like cybersecurity, advanced analytics and software engineering—and it’s become difficult to compete for well-qualified employees. For these five companies, building teams in Northern Ireland was the best solution they found to fill their talent gaps.

Read the full article on LinkedIn.