What do I need to get a job in Ireland?

It is most likely you have already heard that business in Ireland is booming and that the Emerald Island, as it is called sometimes for the beauty of its landscapes and the many nuances of green you can see around, has become a land of job opportunities. Coming to work to Ireland may turn out to be the best choice of your life thanks to the very welcoming Irish population and to the very dynamic labour market that makes particularly easy for people to find job opportunities. In addition, do not forget the great chance you will have to learn English if you are not a proficient speaker. Becoming an English proficient speaker will upgrade your CV a lot and hopefully, should you decide to move to another country or even go back to your native one, will help you move up the career ladder whatever job you will do.

 

What is your country of origin?

EU/EEA or Switzerland citizens

If you come from these areas, EU (European Union state member), EEA (European Economic Area) and Switzerland, you are entitled to come to work in Ireland and you do not need of an employment permit. You will be treated as any other Irish citizens when you apply for a job in Ireland and you will also have the chance to apply for a job vacancy in the public sector such as the Irish Army, the Irish police (An Garda Síochána), etc.

Other countries

If you come from a country outside the areas indicated in the previous point, you will need of an employment permit.
You can get further information on citizensinformation.ie.

 

Personal Public Service Number

 

Whether you need or not an employment permit, you will definitely need a PPS number to get a job in Ireland. It is a unique reference number, composed of 7 digits and one or two letters at the end, that is necessary to get access to social welfare benefits, public services and information in this country.
The PPS is released by the Department of Social Protection through the registration centres spread out all over the Republic of Ireland.

 

Get your qualifications recognized

 

If you have obtained some qualifications, you might want to get them recognized. This will depend on the type of qualifications but also on which country you have obtained them in. Quality and Qualification Ireland comes to help because it provides you with a way to relate your qualifications to equivalent ones in Ireland.

 

 

Prepare your CV

 

The first thing you should do is to update your CV and attach to it the written working references from previous employers. Your CV should be clear and easy to read, hence, take care of its appearance. It should also contain your personal contact details, history of all of your study, the skills that you think you should show off to grab the attention of the reader, your interests and, finally, details of the work experience you have accrued.
It goes without saying that your CV has to be perfectly translated into English, taking care especially of the translation of the technical words referring to your work experiences or your educational titles and so on. Your CV is just like your winning lottery ticket, you should really take care of it because it serves to introduce you as a person, as a professional and as a candidate for the vacant position.

 

 

Where to start looking for a job

 

You should start off with paying a visit to one of the Intreo offices that will be your point of reference and contact for all employment services and income supports. We also suggest you get in touch with your Local Employment Service (LES).
As said at the very beginning of this article, business in Ireland is booming, therefore, you will easily seize your opportunity here. However, in order to foster your research we strongly suggest you take a look at local and national newspapers such as The Sunday Independent, The Irish Times, The Evening Herald, The Irish Independent and so on (be sure that your level of English is adequate to be able to comfortably read them).

Do not forget that nowadays your social capital may often turn out to be your “lifebuoy”, hence your friends may point out some interesting vacancies that they may happen to know.

In any case, here you have a short list of websites where you can start seeking a job in Ireland:

 
• www.irishjobs.ie
• www.jobs.ie
• www.jobfinder.ie
• www.recruitireland.com

 
The Irish state also entitles you to two types of Social welfare payments in case you lose your job, which are the Jobseeker’s Benefit and the Jobseeker’s Allowance.

The only requirements to be qualified for them are that you must be:

 
• capable of work
• looking for a full-time job and always available for it

 
It might be possible for you to be entitled to a part-payment provided that you are in part-time or casual work.

 

Setting up a business in Ireland

 

It could be the case that you might want to set up your own business in Ireland and this would require you to get a permission to start a business if you are from a non-EEA country. This will also depend on your immigration status.
Therefore, you do not need of a business permission if you are in any of these:

 
• a refugee who has been granted this status by the Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform
• a dependent relative of a non-EEA nation that exercises a valid right to reside in Ireland
• entitled to remain in the state because of:

• spouse of an Irish national
• parent of an Irish born child
• being granted temporary leave to stay in Ireland for humanitarian reasons

You can find further details on www.inis.gov.ie.

 

Some useful links to help you start your business in Ireland

 

We suggest you check these useful links that may provide you with advice and also financial support:

 
• www.startups.ie
• www.isme.ie
• www.enterprise-ireland.com
• www.chambers.ie

 

In all of the cases, make sure that your documents and certificates are perfectly translated by a professional translator licensed to issue certified translations as they are required in many of the situations described above.
Your journey to Ireland starts off right here and if you need to get further information, just get in touch!

 

by Andrea Nardinocchi

 

 

If you like this article, please, read also Sports and languages. And you, which sport do you practice?