Deloitte’s Graham Healy discusses building skills in a dynamic, engaging and ever-evolving sector.
Research conducted at the beginning of the year suggested that generative AI, large-scale tech adoption among organisations, heightened tech integration, changes in job expectations, and the creation of compliance and regulatory policies were very likely to impact the global professional services landscape.
For Graham Healy, a partner for technology and transformation at Deloitte, the global market throughout 2025 has been defined by its ability to evolve and change. He explained that it is a landscape driven largely by a range of complex geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges, as well as the advent of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies.
As a result, for organisations in this vastly transformed space, to be able to work across a full spectrum of services “we need skills and talent to be able to meet those demands on an ongoing basis”, Healy told SiliconRepublic.com.
But what skills and characteristics do companies like Deloitte working in professional services need to keep ahead of the game and make strong, impactful choices?
“When we’re recruiting tech talent in Cork and more generally in Ireland, there’s three qualities, if you like, that we look for from our people,” said Healy. They are curiosity, challenge and edge. We want our people to be curious, to continually adopt and adapt to the latest technology changes and bring the best of that to our clients.”
He added that people should thrive when faced with a new challenge and prioritise having ‘an edge’ in a global landscape that is subject to significant transformation. A lifelong love for technology is also a key trait, as is an attitude as a self-starter, that is someone “with a bit of get up and go”, who can work off of their own initiative but also as part of a team.
“Naturally, we want team players and also we want people who come to Deloitte every day and work and enjoy working with their colleagues and their clients on an ongoing basis,” he said.
Moving to the south-west?
Ask anyone from Cork and they will tell you it is the best county in Ireland bar none and while that is open for discussion, for Healy, there is no better place for those considering a career in Ireland’s growing professional services space, than the active Cork-based hub.
“There are many reasons why I would encourage technology professionals in Cork and those looking to relocate to Cork to consider a career with Deloitte,” he said.
One such benefit being access to all that comes with the Deloitte Works programme, which is the company’s hybrid working model that enables remote, hybrid and in-person working arrangements, based on personal preference and the needs of the organisation.
Flexible working arrangements have been shown to give employees a greater sense of autonomy in their roles, improved wellbeing, more satisfaction in the work they do and greater trust in the organisation and its leaders.
Furthermore, for those with ambitions to achieve greater work-life balance and contribute to organisations outside of their on-site or at home office, there are opportunities to give back in a meaningful way.
Healy said: “We like to have an impact in our community. We do a lot of work in CSR and we give hours back to our employees to work in the community across a whole range of charitable initiatives.”
But ultimately, he noted perhaps the biggest draw is that “you’re going to work in Cork”.
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