Adrian McCarthy Discusses the Topic of Future Leaders in the Sector
On Thursday 23rd of May, the For Purpose team were in Croke Park for The Wheel’s Annual Summit. The event, which coincided with The Wheel’s 20th anniversary, focused on how we can promote innovation in the community, voluntary and charity sector to unlock a brighter future for all.
A number of seminars took place throughout the day, with For Purpose Manager Adrian McCarthy joining a discussion panel on ‘Nurturing our Future Leaders’ that aimed to explore how organisations can create a working environment that attracts and retains the brightest talents to take on the next set of challenges facing the sector.
The session, which was chaired by Derek McKay, Managing Director of Adare Human Resource Management, also featured Yvonne McKenna, CEO of Gaisce and Sharon Hughes, CEO of TU Dublin Students’ Union.
During the discussion, Adrian spoke about the recent HEA survey which found that 90% of graduates are seeking employment in Ireland. Given this high percentage, Adrian stated that ‘there is no reason why the not-for-profit sector cannot tap into the best pool of graduate talent available in Ireland today’.
Adrian also touched on findings from 2into3’s latest Quarterly Recruitment Monitor. The report for Q1 2019 stated that there were 108 management level roles advertised in the sector during this period, which represented a 30% increase from the Q1 2018 report. Adrian highlighted that for the sector to meet this demand for leadership there must be a sufficient pipeline of leaders in place and that this can be achieved by attracting and developing graduate level talent in the sector.
Following the discussion, attendees raised some interesting points on prominent issues in the sector relating to early stage talent development and attraction including:
- How can small not-for-profit organisations attract high performing graduate talent?
- How can the sector compete with larger graduate employers?
- What can organisations do to develop their staff?
- How can the sector retain high performing staff?
In closing the session, Adrian surmised that ‘graduates want purpose in their careers, they want to make a difference and as a result they are seeking a career in the sector’.
