GUEST COLUMN: How cross-border trade can help your business

From the bridge of the ship surveying the all-island economy, we are currently sailing in fair weather and the outlook is positive. InterTradeIreland’s latest All-Island Business Monitor reveals that most businesses across the island are stable or growing. A third are in growth mode, while over half, at 56 percent, are stable.
The survey, which commenced in 2008, is the largest and most comprehensive business survey on the island and is based on the views of more than 750 business managers across Northern Ireland and Ireland.
It differs from other surveys in being the ‘voice of local businesses’ whereby we interview them directly by telephone. We include firms of all sizes from across a range of sectors to track all-island economic indicators such as sales, employment, profitability, business outlook, challenges and other specific topical research areas on a quarter-by-quarter basis.
As an indicator of economic demand, over a quarter of businesses saw sales rise in the second quarter of this year, while one in three expect sales to rise in the next six months. Seven in ten businesses are profitable, helped by the easing of the significant energy and wider cost pressures that have pervaded the business economy over the last couple of years.
However, businesses north and south of the border continue to face into some headwinds that have the potential to impact on growth. While the most pressing challenges overall remain the high cost of energy and overheads, the skills shortage is still a notable issue for many businesses.
The labour market is currently very tight, and we are essentially at full employment. This has a knock-on effect, with one in three firms struggling to find the right skills for their business.
Over half of these, at 58 percent, are experiencing long-term vacancies while nearly a quarter, at 22 percent, are dealing with short term skills gaps. What we’ve noticed is that some sectors, particularly construction, manufacturing, leisure and hotels, and catering are experiencing the most noticeable difficulties in attracting and retaining staff.
Meanwhile 42 percent of businesses that are growing, are also having difficulty in attracting skills – no doubt because they are the most likely to be recruiting.
And yet in the midst of this situation, companies are getting creative in finding solutions to the problem of sourcing talent. When asked about the steps that firms are taking to address any skills gaps, close to a third of all businesses are telling us that they are embracing new technologies to address the skills shortage. Just over half are increasing recruitment activity and widening their search. Meanwhile, some 16 percent of firms are investing more in training and development.
There are also lots of technology solutions around that can improve efficiency and productivity and help plug skills gaps. At InterTradeIreland we have a suite of innovation programmes to help firms focus on improving innovation, efficiency and to drive productivity and develop new products and processes.
At InterTradeIreland, we have also seen the benefit that cross-border trade brings to businesses when it comes to their expansion and development. The All-Island Business Monitor clearly demonstrates that businesses that export cross-border are typically more successful, more resilient and enjoy higher growth and profits.
To help them along, we have developed a Trade Hub which is a powerful resource for businesses looking to trade effectively and efficiently between Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Businesses can avail of a fully funded trade health check, and get information and advice about customs, VAT, regulation and cross-border employment.
As we face into a new budget in the South, it makes sense that many businesses are surveying the current landscape, and taking stock. We would urge firms to take advantage of the growing cross-border market currently worth around €12 billion.
Alongside our bespoke trade programmes, we can help by giving businesses the answers to their questions along with the practical advice and 1:1 support they need to find new customers, suppliers, partners and to grow their cross-border trade.

InterTradeIreland is one of six North-South Implementation Bodies established under the 1998 Belfast Agreement. It is funded by Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy. Martin Robinson is the body’s Director of Strategy.