What employment opportunities are available in the current economic climate?

The Irish economy has never experienced a continuous period of economic growth like the one we are currently experiencing, and it augurs well for those seeking to use the education system to enhance their opportunities.

The latest Labour Force Survey indicates that the economy remains very strong, with the employment rate for 15- to 64-year-olds at 74.3 per cent in Q4 2024, up 0.3 percentage points from 74.0 per cent a year earlier.

The number of people aged 15-89 in employment increased by 70,000, or 2.6 per cent, to 2,776,400 people in the 12 months to Q4 2024.

In January 2025, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4 per cent, which was down from a revised rate of 4.5 per cent in December 2024. On an annual basis, the unemployment rate of 4 per cent was down from 4.5 per cent in January 2024.

The estimated labour force stood at 2.8 million in Q4 2024, a rise of 2.4 per cent (68,400) from Q4 2023.

The estimated participation rate in Q4 2024 was 65.5 per cent, up from 65.4 per cent in Q4 2023. The female participation rate of 61.8 per cent in Q3 2024 is the highest recorded since the series began.

Which sectors are leading in terms of employment opportunities?

The strength of the multinational sector over the past 10 years has created conditions for considerable employment growth in the domestic economy.

The tourism and hospitality sector alongside retail, arts and entertainment are showing strong growth. As the State winds down its contracts with hotels across the country accommodating Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers, this growth should continue into 2025.

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With the Government aiming to build 60,000 new homes annually by 2030, construction is one of the fastest-growing sectors, with job vacancies up 31 per cent year-on-year.

Roles such as quantity surveyors, construction managers, and environment, health and safety advisers are in high demand.

Given the rapidly expanding population and the increase in the number of retirees living longer, healthier lives, employment opportunities in all healthcare and medical roles continue to expand.

Demand for leadership and customer-facing skills in management, sales, and customer service continue to provide excellent opportunities in the domestic economy.

Opportunities in IT roles contracted in 2024 as many multinationals cut staff numbers worldwide. However, IT remains a key player in Ireland’s economy. The international banking and finance sectors are also displaying some caution in the recruitment market as they await the fallout from the promised tariffs from the new administration in Washington.

How to use education to maximise your potential?

As in any increasingly competitive jobs market, it is always worth considering what sets you apart from other candidates when applying for a job.

A further engagement with education as a way of entering the labour market or diversifying into other areas of economic activity will be an obvious option for many. Undertaking a postgraduate programme is one way of doing that.

Undertaking a level nine or 10 postgraduate option is quite a commitment and will take time and money to complete. However, those completing a postgrad will have the advantage of adding a new set of cross-sectoral skills that will complement their CV and enhance their employability.

There is increasing confluence between sectors such as information and communications technology (ICT), business and engineering, which were once considered to be unique disciplines. ICT permeates all sectors of the economy and, similarly, strong business skills are relevant across many of them.

Accounting firms do not only hire accountants – they are also on the lookout for marketing, IT and engineering graduates. Arts and journalism graduates who can bring communications and social media skills are sought after by firms who need to expand their social media and online presence.

Data skills

Data analytics is now the fastest-growing skill in demand, and this is likely to continue in the years ahead. The combination of data and marketing skills is the most highly sought-after combination.

With so many people now working from home on a mix of company-owned devices along with their own equipment, there is an increased demand for dedicated cybersecurity functions within companies.

Evolving IT security threats, magnified by the long-term shift to working from home and the corresponding need for greater data protection, is feeding demand for IT security roles. Ever-increasing investment in web-based services has created a shortage of software developers with experience in Java, NET, Python, Ruby on Rails and Scala, in particular.

The intersection between finance and technology has undergone a huge shift, which is changing the face of the financial services landscape.

With dozens of Irish start-ups operating in this area, the expectation is for significant growth in the coming years. The opportunities for hybrid professionals – graduates with skills spanning financial services and technology – will increase as the finance and technology sector sees more collaboration between Government, education and industry.

In addition to sector-specific skills, cross-sectoral employability skills are increasingly sought by employers. These include people skills, critical/analytical thinking skills, management skills and creativity, design and innovation, entrepreneurialism, team-working, communications and business acumen. Sought-after skills also include ICT and languages.

One skill that comes with the acquisition of foreign languages is cultural awareness – something that will be vitally important in developing our markets in a post-Brexit environment.

Languages currently in demand include German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and the Nordic languages. There is a growing demand for Mandarin as Ireland rapidly expands its trade in goods and services with China. With the inclusion of Irish as a full working language of the EU from January 2022, there are also growing opportunities for graduates with proficiency in Gaeilge.

Springboard

For both undergraduates and postgrads there may be a gap between the skills employers are looking for and the skills you will be leaving college with shortly. Bridging this gap is a central focus of the Government through the Springboard+ programme.

Springboard is a strategy that targets funding of free higher education courses to enable jobseekers to upskill or reskill in areas where there are identified labour market skills shortages or employment opportunities.

Springboard courses range from levels six to nine on the National Framework of Qualifications. Courses are delivered in areas such as ICT, manufacturing, international financial services, hospitality, and entrepreneurial/business start-up skills. Work placements are offered on almost all courses.

The ICT skills conversion programme is targeted at jobseekers who already hold a level eight or equivalent qualification and have the capacity and underlying aptitude, to undergo an intensive full-time programme of study and work experience, to acquire honours degree-level ICT programming skills. The ICT skills conversion programme is also available to eligible participants on a part-time, two-year option.

Springboard courses and the ICT skills conversion programme are now run as a joint initiative under the brand Springboard+ and are free. Springboard, which incorporates Springboard courses and the full-time and part-time ICT skills conversion programme, provides for 9,266 places on more than 300 courses in public and private educational institutions throughout Ireland.

All courses selected for funding under Springboard are in areas of identified enterprise skills needs. Courses were selected, following a competitive call for proposals, by an independent evaluation panel using published criteria that included value for money, flexible delivery, engagement with industry and skills relevance.

Further information on Springboard+, including entry requirements and eligibility criteria, is available on the dedicated information and applications website: springboardcourses.ie. Applications are submitted online and decisions around the award of places on the programmes are a matter for individual course providers.

Graduate recruitment and training

Every year dozens of companies, across a wide range of sectors, recruit graduates and postgraduates. A graduate training programme is a way of easing new entrants into the world of work and equipping them with the necessary skills required by the organisation.

Graduate training programmes tend to last up to two years, and some will offer opportunities in different areas of the business. These programmes offer the opportunity to learn on the job, gain experience and earn money. Graduate training programmes can be a significant stepping stone to a permanent job.

Examples of graduate recruitment positions currently offered by some of Ireland’s leading companies are listed on the gradireland.com website.

Firms such as Kerry Group, Future Force, Google, Analog Devices, Aviva, IBM, SIG and AppDynamics have sought postgraduates for training roles in supply-chain management, R&D, business development, cloud technology, engineering roles in network, software, construction, financial reporting, etc.

The Careers Portal website careersportal.ie also carries high-quality, up-to-date information about graduate opportunities.