It may seem strange, but the current upheavals in the manufacturing sector are having little effect on the world of executive selection.

Of course, much of the reason for this is because there has not been much senior recruitment in the traditional manufacturing area for some time, with any activity taking place at the high-tech, research-based and bio sciences businesses that are seem not to be under threat at the moment.

"The only effect that we are seeing, and this is not a recent phenomenon, is that senior candidates - managing directors, chief executives, other directors - are coming to us with knowledge of what will be coming further down the tracks, and talking to us about opportunities to transfer out of their current industries and into another, " said Mark O'Donnell, head of executive selection at Deloitte.

The trouble for these senior executives, many of whom will have been in position for some time, is that the jobs market which they are re-entering will be a different one than the jobs market in which they secured their current positions.

"It is increasingly difficult for executives to move industry, " said O'Donnell. "This is partly to do with the greater specialisations needed to be a senior person these days, but also because of the better quality of candidates out there - so employers can afford to be more choosy. It was a different situation 10 or 12 years ago, where, say a director of operations in the pharmaceutical industry could quite easily move into another sector."

Even with the surfeit of quality candidates, there is still quite an amount of activity for companies involved in executive search - mainly because of the strong economic conditions that remain prevalent in Ireland.

"The economy is buoyant, " said O'Donnell. "Yes, the stock market took a hammering, and jobs are being lost in manufacturing, but demand is very strong for senior candidates, and, as a result, this creates quite an amount of movement generally."

O'Donnell points to a number of sectors which are in constant need of senior people, especially the property and construction sector, which, despite hitting something of a bump, is continuing to thrive.

"A lot of companies, having hit this speed bump, may suddenly feel the need to refocus on their organisations, " he said. "So they will be hiring senior people to get involved in the reorganisation of their structures and the finances.

Top accountants will be brought in with titles such as "operations director" or "head of corporate affairs", and these will be hired as employees rather than employed as consultants."

There is also the issue of significant activity in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) area, which is forecast to continue. Major corporate transactions create opportunities for senior people, and this in turn creates momentum in the market for senior executives. Which is essentially the only market (apart from technical specialisms) that search operates in.

"With search, there is a constant need to be innovative, " said O'Donnell. "We are seeing an increasing requirement for international candidates for two reasons - firstly, the company may need an executive with international experience, and secondly, the expertise necessary may only be available internationally. So, while the majority of candidates employed through search are still Irish (some will be returning ex-pats), it is extremely useful for a search company to have an international network which allows it to understand the various employment marketplaces in which it is conducting its searches."