CORK’S rental accommodation crisis is preventing the creation of thousands of jobs, according to Voxpro founder Dan Kiely.
Mr Kiely said his Mahon-based business could more than triple its 900 employees, but new staff are unable to find accommodation.
“We have an infinite pipeline of Cork clients who want to work with us. I believe we could scale anything up to 3,000,” he said.
Dan Kiely, MD, VoxPro
“What’s become a big problem for us is the lack of rental accommodation. It is an issue that has to be dealt with, but it can be overcome.”
During the company’s monthly town hall meetings with staff, accommodation has been raised repeatedly.
Referring to the rental crisis Voxpro boss, Dan Kiely, said that many staff, especially those who have come from overseas to provide language support, cannot find a room, or cannot afford rent. The company has encouraged staff to rent rooms in their own homes if they can.
However, he said that something needs to be done to build up the housing stock, saying that there was a “cap” on job growth in Cork at present. Next month Voxpro will open a new office in San Francisco, bringing them closer to the Silicon Valley businesses like Google, Nest, and Etsy that they already work with. The new office will start with 80 staff, growing to 750 within 18 months. However, Mr Kiely said that they are still committed to Cork, and the new US branch will lead to more jobs here.
“I’m passionate about Cork. The proximity to Silicon Valley will be a huge plus. Tech support for the US is almost always US based.
“When they expand to Europe, we would be their natural choice. It should drive jobs back here,” he said. Despite the businesses success, and a potential entry to the stock market in the future, Mr Kiely said that he still has the same attitude as when he and his wife Linda started the business over a Marlboro Street Pub in the 1990s.