Todays number on CAO application on Feb 1 is a great source of concern for both the Government and many employers who are sourcing Engineering and Technology talent in the medium  term.

A drop of just over 5% in applications for Engineering and Technology course applications and an increase in applications for Business related courses will impact on the Talent pipeline in the Tech space.

This drop takes place notwithstanding the attempts by Government and various State bodies to promote Engineering and ICT among both second level students and more recently women.

Back 4 Good reported this week that the world competition for Software and Tech Talent is at and all time high with Eastern European countries offering Tax free salaries to keep their own employees from leaving and in an attempt to attract overseas talent .

Meanwhile here in Ireland no such incentives exist and indeed the tax rate of over 54% of salary is having a negative impact on employers sourcing talent from overseas.

The fall off in applications for Engineering and Technology will see less qualified graduates entering the Labour market resulting in the current skills shortages becoming more acute.

The good news from today figures is that applications have increased for other growing sector occupations such as ,Architecture,Law,Construction and business related courses.

However areas that currently have skills shortages such as Education and Nursing have seen a drop in applications.

Also down are Pharmacy and Physiotherapy.