If you want to work in Dublin, you may be wondering about job opportunities and skill shortages in the city. Over the past decade, the Irish economy has been the fastest growing in Europe. This upward trajectory has persisted, with the economy nearly at full employment today.

Is there a skills shortage in Ireland?

In the second quarter of 2024, Ireland hit an employment rate of 74.4%, marking its highest ever recorded. A rising demand for skilled professionals across various industries has been created along with this, making Ireland an attractive destination for career growth.

To identify the skills in demand today, we looked to Ireland’s Skills and Labour Market Research Unit, as well as the government’s list of occupations that are in critically short supply. If your job title appears on this list, you can apply for a critical skills permit, which provides immigrants with preferential treatment.

In demand skills and job opportunities in Ireland

Four key sectors continue to see jobs growth and offer the most opportunities in Ireland right now.

1. Science and engineering

Ireland currently ranks 7th on the EU’s Innovation Scoreboard. With its newly formed Talent and Innovation strategy now in place, the country is aiming for Innovation Leader status by 2030. Higher levels of workforce diversity are viewed as a valuable resource that the Irish government plans to nurture as part of achieving this.

The science and engineering sectors have experienced strong growth over the past five years. As a result, skills from both fields are currently in high demand.

Here are some examples of roles that are included on the critical skills list right now:

• Industrial pharmacists
• Chemical scientists
• Medical lab scientists Biochemists
• Meteorologists Structural engineers
• Site engineers
• Mechanical engineers
• Electrical engineers
• Chemical engineers
• BIM Technicians

Leading employers in this sector include: Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, Stryker, Intel, Arup and Jacobs Engineering.

2. ICT

Dublin has a long-standing reputation as an IT hub and is one of the top tech cities in Europe. Startups and expanding tech companies are attracted to Dublin thanks to our well-educated, English-speaking workforce.

Over the past five years, growth has been driven by employment opportunities for programmers, software developers and data analysts. Despite recent international uncertainty surrounding the tech industry, it has continued to grow in Ireland. These developments have made the sector an important part of the resilience in Ireland’s economy today.

New opportunities are emerging as technology evolves. This is clear in the government’s critical skills list, which classifies all ICT Professionals as in demand. Here are some specific examples of roles outlined along with this:

• IT directors
• IT project managers
• IT business analysts
• IT business development professionals
• IT system designers
• Telecommunications directors
• Web design professionals
• Web development professionals
• Programmers

Main employers in this sector include: DCC, Google, Apple, Intel, HP, Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon.

3. Business and finance

Employment growth in business and finance has been consistent over the past ten years, with more than 90,000 people now employed across the sector in Ireland.
Dublin is home to employers within many industries, including international banks, investment managers, insurers and aircraft leasing operators.

While these skills are utilised by most companies, the main job growth area is within the financial sector. Altogether, it accounts for a third of all business and finance jobs.

According to the government, there are skills shortages in Ireland across several niche roles, including the following:

• Actuaries, economists, statisticians, and project managers with knowledge of big data analytics
• Tax consultants specialising in non-EEA tax
• Big data business analysts
• Estimators
• Chartered and certified accountants specialising in;
  ⚬ Tax
  ⚬ Compliance
  ⚬ Regulation
  ⚬ Solvency
  ⚬ Financial Management

Main employers in the industry include The AIB Group, Bank of Ireland, The Central Bank of Ireland, Bank of America, Citi, Davy, PWC, Deloitte, Accenture and KPMG.

4. Healthcare and social care

While employment numbers depend on government funding, demand for health services is expected to continue to grow due to Ireland’s ageing population.

In the next decade, healthcare, residential care and social work are expected to generate the largest number of jobs. It is currently the second largest sector and many of those currently employed hail from abroad. Jobs for doctors, nurses, medical technicians, personal care workers and social workers are all expected to be in demand.

Currently, many healthcare roles feature on the government’s critical skills list. Some of these include:

• Medical practitioners
• Radiographers
• Radiation therapists
• Audiologists
• Dieticians
• Podiatrists/Chiropodists
• Registered nurses and midwives

There are other job opportunities in Ireland for healthcare professionals too. Remember, the critical skills list only highlights the roles that are so in demand that the government offers extra perks to the immigrants who fill them.

The main employers in this sector is the Department of Health and the HSE.