Skills shortages are a nightmare for employers looking to find candidates to fill essential roles who have the right qualifications.
If you are looking for a new job in Ireland, want to progress to the next stage in your career, or are looking forward to pursuing a different career entirely, then this could be a fantastic opportunity for you to help fill this skill shortage gap.
Does Ireland have a skills shortage?
There is no doubt that Ireland has a skills shortage in several areas, with over 52 job roles being classed as critically under skilled. These are not just obscure jobs that you might never have heard of either. The job shortage list in Ireland includes midwives and registered nurses, quantity surveyors, medical practitioners, mechanical engineers, and ICT professionals.
IT and health professionals are particularly understaffed, as well as there are construction skills shortages in Ireland too. With the Irish labour market keen to employ skilled workers within these essential roles, and job vacancies remaining empty due to a lack of workers with the specific skills needed, now is the time to explore your current employment opportunities and upskill your CV with a qualification in one of these hugely in-demand jobs.
IT professionals
One of the main areas highlighted on the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment’s Critical Skills Occupations List is IT professionals. This means that, perhaps surprisingly, the number of people with relevant qualifications is critically low, despite the world becoming more and more dependent on IT. However, this could be one reason for the IT skills shortage in Ireland, as the digital world needs more and more qualified professionals who are up to date with essential technological developments and how to use them.
If you are looking to get into a role in IT, then there has never been a better time to do it, and it is actually the development of technology that can help you gain a qualification in your own time. There is a range of online IT courses, further education, and training opportunities available through distance learning, which can get you up to date with the latest development in information technology.
Explore dedicated cyber security qualifications to courses in big data, data analytics, and AI. By enrolling in these courses, you can develop your career and help fulfil a crucial gap in Ireland’s job sector.
International Business Managers
International business managers are another key field that was listed as critically under skilled in the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment’s Critical Skills Occupations List. This is a concerning prospect, as international business management is key to the global networking of a company, helping it to expand worldwide and find a huge new customer base. However, it also means that if you gain a qualification relevant to international business management, then you are likely to find several vacancies for this exciting and lucrative career.
Online courses in Business, Business Management, Project Management and Leadership can prepare you for a career in international business management. These courses help you develop several skills you need for a career as a business manager and transferable skills for other in-demand jobs in business, such as project management or product development.
Hospitality and Tourism Staff and Managers
The hospitality and tourism sector is essential to the Irish economy, so when we hear that hospitality staff shortages could affect the entire industry, it is a nationwide concern. Although it does also mean that there are a variety of jobs available in this sector, and by gaining a qualification online, you are likely to gain the skills necessary for several of these in-demand job roles.
Online courses in hotel management could be the key to helping you find your ideal career within the hospitality and tourism sector and play a vital role in tourism in Ireland. Through these part-time and full-time, flexible online courses, you can learn essential skills to prepare you for your leading role in hotel management.
Aged Care Workers
Caring for those in need is an admirable and rewarding career, which is necessary for many of the 1.04 million people over 60 years old in Ireland. However, skills shortages mean that many older people are left without care, and this year it has been reported that staff shortages have left a huge 6,000 people still waiting for the care they need. It is clear that more people are needed to work in this important sector, and by developing the relevant skills, you can help fill one of the many vacancies available in this industry.
To work in aged care, you do not need any specific qualifications in higher education. However, studying an online course in aged care or an area of health services will help you develop the skills needed to succeed as a care worker.
Online courses in aged care can help you develop the skills needed to care for the elderly and vulnerable and land a job as an aged care worker. From certifications to NVQs, there are several qualifications you can undertake online to develop both the practical and personal skills you need to thrive in this essential career.
Other areas of skills shortages in Ireland
There are so many under skilled areas of employment in Ireland that if the above jobs are not for you, you have plenty of choices. According to the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment’s Critical Skills Occupations List, there are other key areas you could also become qualified in that have significant shortages:
Although the critical shortage of skilled staff has been detrimental to many industries in Ireland, it has also meant that there is a range of vacancies for people wanting to upskill their CV and develop their careers. Through a variety of online courses, you can become a highly-skilled, qualified worker in one of the many understaffed areas in the Irish job market.
Browse All Courses