Science and engineering, healthcare, construction and selected technology roles recur in Ireland’s skills evidence. That is a useful starting point for a job search, but it is not a ranking of easy jobs to get. A shortage can concern a particular qualification, specialism or location, while an employer elsewhere has no suitable opening.

This guide checks the available official evidence on 20 October 2026. It separates observed shortages, recruitment difficulties, future projections and employment-permit rules so that readers can use each for the question it actually answers.

Start with occupations, not a league table

The SOLAS research catalogue currently lists the National Skills Bulletin 2025 alongside newer occupational projections and a recruitment-agency survey. Their reference periods differ; a report available today does not necessarily describe vacancies advertised today.

The October 2025 National Skills Bulletin identifies shortages among analytical, process and medical scientists; several engineering specialisms; maintenance, manufacturing and laboratory technicians; software developers and IT analysts; doctors and nurses; and subject-specific secondary teachers.

Its construction findings include civil engineers, construction project managers, quantity surveyors and carpenters. It also identifies welders/fabricators. Some other trades are described as potential future shortages, rather than established shortages. That distinction matters: do not turn every occupation mentioned in an outlook into a current shortage claim.

Use those findings to identify a few occupations worth investigating. Then read the detailed occupational discussion, rather than assuming that a broad heading such as “technology” covers every entry-level or senior role equally.

Recruitment difficulties add detail, not a national vacancy count

The November 2025 recruitment-agency survey records selected agencies’ experience of hard-to-fill roles. Examples include construction managers and trades, engineering and life-science specialists, ICT roles, nurses, drivers and accountants. It also describes demand for communication, teamwork and sector knowledge alongside technical skills.

Those are respondents’ reports, not a census of every employer. Their vacancy mentions cannot establish a reader’s chance of being hired, a county’s total openings or the number of jobs currently available. The survey also highlights differences in experience requirements, making the actual person specification essential reading.

A projection is a planning signal

SOLAS’s July 2026 occupational projections for 2026–2030 place science and engineering, construction and healthcare among the strongest projected growth groups. The report uses economic forecasts and assumptions about productivity, and explicitly treats the results as an indication of possible direction rather than exact future employment.

That makes it useful when comparing longer training routes. It cannot tell you that a course will lead to a vacancy on the date you finish, or that growth will be evenly distributed across Ireland.

Keep the wider labour market in view

The CSO’s Labour Force Survey for quarter 2 of 2026, released on 20 August, estimated 2,839,300 people aged 15–89 in employment, up 0.8% over the year. Its unemployment estimate for ages 15–74 was 5.1%.

These newer national estimates provide context for the older skills evidence. Employment measures people working; it is not a count of unfilled jobs. National growth and unemployment can coexist with shortages in specific occupations.

Check an actual route into the work

For each shortlisted occupation, compare current employer adverts for the same level of work. Record the location, essential qualification or registration, experience, working hours and contract type. Separate requirements you already meet from those requiring training, supervised experience or recognition of a qualification.

Before paying for a course, check its award, entry requirements, duration, assessment and placement arrangements against those adverts. A familiar job title on a course page is less informative than the tasks and recognised qualification it prepares you for.

Keep permit eligibility as a separate check

The department’s explanation of occupation lists describes how eligible and ineligible occupations help manage employment permits. The Critical Skills Employment Permit guidance sets further conditions concerning the occupation, remuneration, qualifications and job offer.

A shortage finding alone does not establish permit eligibility or permission to work. Anyone who needs an employment permit should check the exact official occupation description and current conditions for the proposed job. This guide does not determine an individual application or promise employment.