What We Do

Critical Skills Occupations List

Employments in respect of which there is a shortage in respect of qualifications, experience or skills which are required for the proper functioning of the economy

This list is set out in Schedule 3 of the Regulations.

This list is effective from 02 September 2024, when SI 444 of 2024 came into effect.

The Critical Skills Occupations List is organised using the Standard Occupational Classification system (SOC 2010), a system which classifies workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data. Specific capabilities or skills that are eligible within a broader occupation category are listed under ‘Employments with Specific Skills’ – applicants with these skills may apply for Critical Skills Employment Permits. If your employment falls within the broad employment category but you do not have a specialism as indicated under ‘Employments with specific skills’, you may not be eligible for a Critical Skills Employment Permit.            

SOC-3

Employment category

SOC-4

Employments

112

Production Managers and Directors

1122

Site Manager

113

ICT Professionals

1136

Information technology and telecommunications directors

118

Health and Social Services Managers and Directors

1181

Senior health services and public health managers and directors

121

Managers and Proprietors in Agriculture Related Services

1213
  • Professional Forester
  • Resource modelling, earth observation and data analyst 

211

Natural and Social Science Professionals

2111

Chemical scientists in manufacturing (including food & beverages, medical devices), product development, analytical development, clinical co-vigilance, or biotechnology or related and relevant specialist skills, qualifications or experience

2112

  • Medical laboratory scientists
  • Biological scientists and biochemists in manufacturing (including food & beverages, medical devices), product development, analytical development, clinical co-vigilance, or biotechnology or related and relevant specialist skills, qualifications or experience

2113

  • Physical scientists in manufacturing (including food & beverages, medical devices), product development, analytical development, clinical co-vigilance, or biotechnology or related and relevant specialist skills, qualifications or experience
  • Meteorologist
  • Operational Forecaster

212

Engineering Professionals

2121

  • Civil Engineers
  • Structural Engineers and Site Engineers

2122

Mechanical engineers

2123

Electrical engineers

2124

Electronics engineers specialising in:

  • Chip design, test engineering, or application engineering, or
  • Process automation engineering, or
  • Power generation, transmission and distribution, or
  • Related and relevant specialist skills, qualifications or experience               

2126

Design and development engineers specialising in:                     

  • Quality control, or validation and regulation engineering (high tech industry; food and beverages), or  
  • Chip design, test engineering, or application engineering, or
  • Process automation engineering, or
  • Power generation, transmission and distribution, or
  • Related and relevant specialist skills, qualifications or experience                              

2127

Production and process engineers specialising in:

  • Quality control, or validation and regulation engineering (high tech industry; food and beverages), or  
  • Chemical process engineering, or
  • Process automation engineering, or
  • Power generation, transmission and distribution, or
  • Related and relevant specialist skills, qualifications or experience

Chemical Engineer

2129

  • Material scientists
  • Setting Out Engineer
  • Façade Designer
  • Project Engineer

213

Information Technology and Telecommunications Professionals

2133

  • IT specialist managers
  • BIM Manager

2134

IT project and programme managers

2135

IT business analysts, architects and systems designers

2136

Programmers and software development professionals

2137

Web design and development professionals

2139

All other ICT professionals not elsewhere classified

221

Health Professionals

2211

Medical practitioners

2212

Psychologist

2213

Industrial Pharmacists/ Pharmacist

2217

  • Radiographers
  • Radiation therapists
  • Vascular technologists/physiologists
  • Gastro Intestinal technologists/physiologists

2218

Podiatrist/Chiropodist

2219

  • Audiologists
  • Perfusionists
  • Dietician
  • Cardiac Physiologist
  • Medical Scientist

222

Therapy Professionals

2221

2222

2223

2229

Physiotherapist

Occupational Therapist

Speech and Language Therapist 

Orthoptists

223

Nursing and Midwifery Professionals

2231

Registered Nurses

2232

Registered Midwives

231

Teaching and Educational Professionals

2311

Academics who hold a qualification equivalent to Level 10 of the National Framework of Qualification in a given discipline awarded no less than two calendar years prior to the date of application for an employment permit, with a minimum of one academic year of relevant teaching experience, and the employment concerned

  • is in a third level institution governed by the Irish Universities Act 1997 (No. 24 of 1997), the Institutes of Technology Act 2006 (No. 25 of 2006) and the Technological Universities Act 2018 (No. 3 of 2018); or
  • involves delivering a programme largely or wholly concerned with information and communications technology, which leads to a major award at QQI level 8 and/or level 9 as validated by Quality and Qualifications Ireland.

242

Business, Research and Administrative Professionals

2421

  • Chartered and certified accountants, and taxation experts specialising in tax, compliance, regulation, solvency or financial management or related and relevant specialist skills, qualifications or experience.
  • Qualified accountants with at least three years’ auditing experience, who are full members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and whom have relevant work experience in the areas of US GAAP reporting and Global Audit and Advisory Services and the employment concerned is in MNC Global Audit Services. 
  • Tax consultant specialising in non-EEA tax consultancy and compliance with a professional tax qualification or legal qualification with tax specialism, and has a minimum of three years’ experience of tax consultancy requirements and regulations in the relevant non-EEA market. 

2423

Management consultants and business analysts specialising in big data analytics with skills in IT, data mining, modelling, and advanced maths or related and relevant specialist skills, qualifications or experience

2424

Business and financial project management professionals specialising in finance & investment analytics, risk analytics, credit, fraud analytics or related and relevant specialist skills, qualifications or experience

2425

Actuaries, economists and statisticians specialising in big data analytics with skills in IT, data mining, modelling, and advanced maths or related and relevant specialist skills, qualifications or experience

243

Architects, Town Planners and Surveyors

2431

Architect

2433

Quantity surveyors

2435

Architectural Technologist

2436

  • Construction project managers
  • Commercial Manager

244

Welfare Professionals

2442

Social Worker

246

Quality and Regulatory Professionals

2461

Quality control and planning engineers

2462

Quality assurance and regulatory professionals

2463

Environmental health professionals

247

Media Professionals

2473

Art Director in 2D or 3D animation, with at least one year’s experience in the role

312

Draughtspersons and Related Architectural Technicians

3122

BIM Coordinator/ Technician

321

Health Associate Professionals

3213

  • PHECC registered Paramedics
  • PHECC registered Advanced Paramedic Practitioners

3218

  • Prosthetists
  • Orthotists
  • Respiratory physiologist

341

Artistic, Literary and Media Occupations

3411

Animation Background and Design Artist in 2D or 3D animation, with at least one year’s experience in the role

342

Design Occupations

3421

  • Location Designer in 2D or 3D animation, with at least one year’s experience in the role
  • Character Designer in 2D or 3D animation, with at least one year’s experience in the role
  • Prop Designer in 2D or 3D animation, with at least one year’s experience in the role
  • Animation Layout Artist in 2D or 3D animation, with at least one year’s experience in the role

344

Sports and Fitness Occupations

3442

High performance coaches and directors employed by
  • National sports organisations, or
  • High profile sports organisations engaging in international competition

353

Business, Finance and Related Associate Professionals

3531

Estimator

354

Sales, Marketing and Related Associate Professionals

3542

Business sales executives specialising in International Sales Roles or ITB2B sales roles and with fluency in the official language, apart from English, of a state which is not a Member State of the EEA

3543

International marketing experts with required domain knowledge specialising in product strategy development and management with technical and product/service knowledge (pharmaceutical, medical devices, Software B2B, SaaS products)