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With a target of 2,500 new jobs in three years the games industry looks like one for people planning their career prepare for, if Government plans succeed.

One of the six areas where action is required according to The Games Sector in Ireland: An Action Plan for Growth report is in enhancing skills and experience. Short term needs and building a continuous feed-stock of creative, technological and commercial capabilities need to be addressed, it says.
Martin Shanahan, Chief Executive, Forfás commented that the potential for this sector is immense with potential job gains of 2,500 by end 2014 across a range of activities including games servicing and development. “Games can also be a catalyst for growth in a host of other related activities in the digital economy including social networks, search engines, animation, film and video and e-learning.  Success for Ireland in the games sector, however, is not a given and will require a step-change in policy and decisive action.”
The pace of change within the digital economy demands a more agile and responsive approach to meet its future needs, he added.

London may have been announced as the European HQ of social networking company Twitter, but finally this week Dublin was announced as the location for an international office.

The news, which was broken early Monday morning with a tweet by @IDAIRELAND, simply said: “Ireland is trending. Twitter to establish international office in Dublin. #idairl”,
There has been much speculation over the past year about Twitter’s interest in Ireland and even a campaign via Twitter to get the social network to choose Ireland.
Barry O’Leary, CEO of IDA Ireland which supported Twitter’s decision to locate in Dublin, described it as a fantastic addition to Ireland’s dynamic digital media cluster. Facebook and LinkedIn also have offices in Dublin, so Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD’s comment that this “shows there is real ground for Ireland’s claim to be the internet capital of Europe” is one to nod in agreement to. Or to even get trending.

In the US, it’s got familiar names such as Instagram on its list of graduates.
As Dogpatch Labs Europe opens in Dublin this week all eyes will be on the types of digital businesses that are expected to emerge from it.

Dogpatch Labs are dynamic open plan spaces for entrepreneurs working on new business ideas – hardly a new concept. Set up by Polaris Venture Partners – to connect entrepreneurs and help founders conceive and launch start-ups – the difference is the new Dublin facility is the first to open outside of the US.
In effect the European arm of the initiative, it is expected that it will interesting start-ups to Dublin from Europe and beyond.
The Dublin lab will be open plan space housing an estimated 30 teams working on new businesses at varying but early stages of development. Start-ups generally have six months in their patch – best of luck to the graduates of 2012!

Enterprise Ireland (EI) has launched a video campaign ‘It’s Happening Here’ to highlight the vibrancy of the software sector and the thousands of jobs available in over 600 Irish firms.

The organisation posted the video on YouTube and is encouraging people to share it through Twitter and the hashtag #itsHappeningHere.
Jim Cuddy, manager, Finance and Enterprise Software Department, EI, says the video was made in response to an industry request.
“We had an increasing number of companies say to us is there nothing EI can do to help us find appropriate people in the software area. Big companies are the first port of call for IT graduates, Irish companies aren’t as well known, so this gives them some profile.”
The video is primarily aimed at those between 20 and 30; college students, graduates or those looking at changing career, as well as transition year students.
A website has also been launched, www.itshappeninghere.ie, and features a tranche of Irish firms that are hiring.

Digital tools are leading to poor etiquette and more distractions despite their ability to make employees more productive, a new study has found.

In a survey of 1,140 workers in the UK, social email software provider, harmon.ie, found that on one hand, today’s workers are more available to their jobs than ever.
Some 74 per cent of respondents keep in touch with the office while on holiday. One third fear they will lose their competitive edge if they leave their emails for more than 30 minutes.
However, that commitment to technology can lead to more distractions and rudeness. One third of employees are interrupted from their tasks at least every 15 minutes, with it taking another 20 minutes to regain focus.
Harmon.ie, meanwhile, found that four out of 10 workers continue to check their communication devices during face-to-face meetings, with three out of 10 leaving a face-to-face meeting to answer calls.