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HIRELAND, THE GRASSROOTS initiative which asked employers of small to medium size enterprises to pledge jobs in ones and twos have today reached their target of 5,000 pledges.
Over 2,000 of these pledges have already turned into jobs since the initiative was launched on January 16 2012.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, co-founder Lucy Masterson believes that its success is down to “the army of goodwill out there.”
With its initial milestone now reached, she sees it as confirmation of what Hireland can achieve in the future:
We now know that we are really onto something here. When we launched, we didn’t know where this would go and only picked 5,000 as it was a nice round figure.
Detailing the companies next steps, Lucy is hoping to spread the message even further by getting volunteers on board from all around the country.
For anyone who wants to help, this is your chance. We can do this together.
Those who answer ‘the county call’ are free to do things their way, using local knowledge and networks to “hassle the local butcher to take one more person on.”
Hoping to broaden Hireland’s reach even further, Lucy is also hoping to help those who are unemployed and require mentoring or upskilling. “It will all be there, and all completely free,” she says.
We’re small fry but who knows, this could be a whole new way at looking at job creation.
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So has unemployment gone down by 5000. Iv a feeling that most of these jobs would have been filled regardless of this campaign, most employers won’t recruit unless they have to.
Great to see this. Congratulations to Hireland and all those who’ve participated.
One of my friend’s works in a shop, whenever someone is hired she loses hours.
Fair play to them, great Idea and acting on their own initiative. Any profitable business should be encouraged to hire some people, if they are profitable they can afford to do it and ought to be able to identify an area where such help can make their business even more profitable, ultimately each business ought to make these decisions for themselves but everyone needs a push now and again and if every profitable business in Ireland (and there are still quite a few) were to take on one employee……
Maybe if your friend worked a little harder then they wouldn’t need to hire someone?
Thats a great attitude Gillian, really the type that will improve the position of our country and your friend, divide it all up between those in jobs and those without and make sure the formers interests comes first at all costs, nevermind the hundred of thousands unemployed! Fortunately Gillian the more people that find work the better the economy becomes for your friend to find other work and earn more, if we were to take your advice we would never grow and your friend would be worse off.
Watch the scabby politicians jump on the back of this now!!!
We pledged on HIreland and were contacted by a candidate afterwards. We hired. It works both ways. Congrats to those behind it.
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