What are the most in-demand jobs in Ireland?

In this small but mighty country, opportunities are abundant. There are consistently at least 25,000 job vacancies in Ireland, with many of them requiring skills and experience that you may already have. With some roles in particular having a growing need to be filled, you could be the person employers are waiting for. Find out where you could find work in the country with our guide to the most in-demand jobs in Ireland.

What job roles have the most vacancies in Ireland?

Official data from the Central Statistics Office shows that the job sector with the most openings in Ireland is professional, scientific and technical activities. In the middle of 2024, there were around 3,300 vacancies in this area, which covers a broad range of roles.

Jobs in the category cover everything from accounting to architecture, and engineering to veterinary science. Their common factors are that they often require a good degree of training and skills, and that Ireland's need for them is growing.

In a country with a great agricultural tradition, veterinarians are particularly important. Farmers need vets constantly, which is why reported shortages have provoked action from the government. Currently, they are making plans to open Ireland's second veterinary school at one of its provincial universities.

STEM jobs in general are in great need of being filled. A recent government survey of recruitment agencies found that 41 per cent of vacancies considered difficult to fill were in science, engineering and technology. These included many in IT, such as software developer and data scientist, as well as ones throughout the engineering field.

Notably, the vacancy rate for professional roles such as these is also the highest in the country, at 2.2 per cent. This means that more than one in every fifty positions needs to be filled right now. That is double the rate found across all sectors.

Nonetheless, there are many open positions elsewhere. The sector with the second most vacancies in Ireland is education. From nurseries to universities and teachers to academics, the country needs people ready to share their love of learning.

What's more, it welcomes international graduates to do this. In 2022, Ireland's schools were their second most common post-study destination. You may even be able to get your teaching qualification recognised by the Teaching Council if you received it outside the country.

In most places that you look, there is opportunity for workers with the required skills and experience. A key finding of the recent recruitment agency survey was that 72 per cent of vacancies were considered hard to fill. Moreover, 59 per cent were deemed very difficult to fill.

If you'd like to work in the country, studying there can make for a great start. Explore the top universities in Ireland.

Which sectors have the most job vacancies in Ireland?

The following table shows the five sectors with the largest number of job openings in Ireland, as of June 2024.

You can get a fuller picture of where the most in-demand jobs in Ireland are found by looking at how many vacancies there are in proportion to the number of roles. The next table shows the five sectors with the highest vacancy rates in Ireland.

Want to know where you can get work you will really enjoy in the country? Read our list of the top employers in Ireland.

What job roles are growing in Ireland?

According to projections by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), positions for business and administration professionals will grow the most in Ireland by 2035. The organisation's Skills Forecast for the country estimates that there will be 53,000 more roles of this type than there were in 2021.

This is an unsurprising prediction for a place where financial services and technology have been very significant for a long time. Ireland even leads at the point where they cross over. Pioneering fintech startup Stripe was founded and retains a headquarters in Dublin.

Second on the Cedefop list of Ireland's in-demand jobs for the future is personal care, with an increase of 43,000 roles. More broadly, healthcare is always a hugely important area. The country's national health service is growing its staff numbers by record amounts, and still needs to grow further. Already, the Health Service Executive is the biggest employer of international graduates in the country.

Discover some of the great places where you can study health and medicine here with our guide to the top medical schools in Ireland.

What jobs can help you get an Irish visa?

Similarly to other countries, Ireland has a list of jobs that enable you to apply for a work visa on favourable terms. Known as the Critical Skills Occupations List, this is linked to the two-year Critical Skills Employment Permit.

There are many different roles on the list, covering various sectors of industry. As such, it is worth looking at the government website to see everything that is included. However, for a quick insight into the most in-demand jobs in Ireland, here are just a few:

• Accountant
• Animator
• Business analyst
• Engineer
• Forester
• IT professional
• Laboratory scientist
• Manufacturing scientist
• Medical practitioner
• Paramedic
• Pharmacist
• Surveyor

People who have an offer for a job that is found on the list can apply for the visa providing that their salary will be at least EUR 38,000. After 21 months, you will be able to apply for Stamp 4 permission to live and work in the country without a permit. Finally, after five years, you will be able to apply for Irish citizenship.

Of course, this is not the only way to gain permission for employment in Ireland. There are various other work permits available, as well as the Third Level Graduate Programme. For more information on this, read our guide to applying for a post-study visa in Ireland.

Interested in learning more about working in Ireland after graduation? Try our advice on the top graduate jobs and finding a graduate career in the country. Alternatively, if you are still only starting your study abroad journey, our simple course search tool can help you find your way.