Prometric to create 40 jobs in Dundalk with new DCU research partnership

Minister Richard Bruton with (from left) Prof Brian MacCraith, president, Dublin City University, Minister of State Gerald Nash, Michael Brannick, CEO, Prometric and Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland

Prometric to create 40 jobs in Dundalk with new DCU research partnership
Minister Richard Bruton with (from left) Prof Brian MacCraith, president, Dublin City University, Minister of State Gerald Nash, Michael Brannick, CEO, Prometric and Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland

US-based testing company Prometric has entered into a three-year research partnership with Dublin City University (DCU) valued at around €1m which will create 40 new jobs in Dundalk, Co Louth.

Supported by IDA Ireland, Prometric has invested more than €75m in Ireland over ten years of operation and this announcement means a further injection of more than €3.5m to expand its Co Louth presence and partner with DCU.

In Dundalk, Prometric’s 40 new jobs will add finance and customer service functions to its test development, technology, operations and human resources teams already there.

When all hiring is complete, the company expects to have 168 employees in Ireland, 147 of which will be at its Co Louth global operations centre. Its other office is in Dublin.

The project announced today involves the establishment of the Centre for Assessment Research in Education (CARE) at DCU and the development of test types that can better assess the preparedness of Irish students in the areas of critical thinking and skills assessment, in addition to knowledge recall.

The research conducted through CARE is expected to influence Irish education and strengthen Ireland’s workforce, particularly for attracting multi-national employers and foreign direct investment. Three jobs will be created on the DCU campus.

“If we wish to encourage our students to be creative problem-solvers ready to face the challenges of our globalised, knowledge-based modern world, we must embrace new, cutting-edge methodologies such as those offered by Prometric,” said Prof Brian MacCraith, president of DCU.

“A major systemic difficulty in Ireland has been the lack of any centre of expertise in assessment. Our partnership with Prometric will allow DCU to establish a national resource to conduct research and develop best practice in education and job skills assessment, potentially having a transformative impact on the quality of teaching, learning and jobs growth for generations to come.”

Prometric has delivered more than 1.5 million tests in Ireland on behalf of its clients, including the Road Safety Authority, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and Chartered Accountants Ireland and international clients with testing offered in Ireland, such as the European Personnel Selection Office.