It’s a great time to be a graduate in Ireland

For most graduates, the move from full-time education into a job and career is the biggest transition yet. It can be daunting.

In times of recession, people often defer a move into the workplace, instead seeking refuge in a postgraduate course. But that won’t be a problem for the class of 2025, because the employment outlook is very positive.

“Companies want graduates both to fill vacancies, yes, but they also want to hire them for all the benefits that they bring, including their knowledge, skills and their new ways of working and thinking,” says Meadhbh Costello, senior policy executive for education, skills and innovation policy with the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec). “More than half of companies plan to take on graduates in the coming years.”

Sam Dooley, country director of the StepStone Group Ireland, with responsibility for IrishJobs.ie, says that the Irish economy has performed well this year.

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“Indicators show that the labour market remains at, or close to, full capacity,” he says. “This strong economic backdrop positions the economy well to weather the new era of volatility ahead prompted by a more protectionist trading environment, and should minimise the potential impact of hiring disruption in the jobs market for graduates.”

Dooley says demand for skilled graduates in the construction sector has continued to rise in the first half of 2025. “This is due to a demand for specialised talent to meet Ireland’s ambitious homebuilding and infrastructure targets,” he says.

“This isn’t surprising, as, in 2024, jobs for grads in construction were up by 36 per cent. So far this year, the most in-demand graduate roles were in construction and related sectors, with graduate engineers the most in-demand, followed closely by graduate quantity surveyors.

“Rising in demand are positions for graduates in health and safety, and civil engineering. As the construction sector continues to evolve, with an increased focus on innovation and technology, it’s clear that more professionals with technical and specialised skills will be needed to keep pace with this rapid growth in demand.”

Joan McNaboe, who leads the skills and labour market research at Solas (the further education and training agency), says the economy is strong, even with the threat of US tariffs.

Employers today are less focused on what degree a graduate has and more focused on the fact that they have a degree, proving that they can learn and grow, she says.

“We asked recruiters what they are looking for in graduates, and they mostly spoke of the ‘soft skills’: good communication, leadership, problem-solving and teamwork,” says McNaboe. “They also want digital readiness, as digital literacy is needed across every sector.”

Costello agrees that, while employers are reporting skills and staff shortages in a number of areas including healthcare and construction, they’re perhaps even more focused on soft skills.

“Employers use different words to describe different skills but ultimately they want people who are resilient to a shifting workplace. We are constantly faced with different challenges and working with different people, so it’s important to have emotional resilience and intelligence in order to adapt to these scenarios,” she says.

Artificial intelligence is accelerating these labour market needs. “With AI comes a need for an adaptable workforce who can respond to technical changes,” says McNaboe.

Green skills – skills and abilities that help to reduce human impact on the environment – are also in high demand, McNaboe says.

“We produced a report which suggests that about 75 per cent of current jobs in Ireland require some level of green skills. The jobs that have the highest share of green skills are showing the most growth. Ireland has a lot of catching up to do in order to meet its 2030 environmental targets, so there will be opportunities across the economy.”

Jobs in this area may include, for instance, engineers and construction professionals to build and maintain renewable technologies; energy trading jobs in business; and, simply, graduates with strong communication skills to help business and society understand new technologies and environmental projects or laws.

Looking at the news, you’d be forgiven for thinking that companies have dumped any consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. These typically entail companies investing in communities, charities or underrepresented minorities, including ensuring that people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds have opportunities to progress.

This move away from ESG, however, is primarily a US phenomenon. Graduates still value it, and they want to work for companies with ethics and values that they share.

“The Trump effect is not showing up in Ireland, as we looked at vacancies in the area of corporate social responsibility, and they came up strongly as an area of skills need,” says McNaboe.

She says that about three quarters of employers are facing some kind of skills gap, “whether that’s a struggle to fill particular vacancies or find someone with the right skill set, or perhaps where an existing employee does not have the skills to fill the job (which may have fundamentally changed due to technological developments”.

“There’s lots of mobility in this tight labour market,” says McNaboe.

Of course, graduate salaries are almost invariably at the lower end of the pay scale. They always have been, but in a time of inflation, with the cost of living biting and accommodation scarce, this is a real challenge for graduates.

“We are hearing this from employers,” says McNaboe. “In regions outside the big cities, however, there are lots of opportunities in healthcare, teaching and many other industries, and these have the advantage of being slightly cheaper to live in.”

Key stats and facts from the HEA National Employer Survey 2024

51 per cent of employers surveyed plan to recruit higher-education graduates over the coming years.
46 per cent of employers plan to recruit further education and training (FET) graduates in coming years.
77 per cent of employers have recruited staff in the past two years.
35 per cent of employers recruited higher-education graduates in the previous two years, with around one in four – 24 per cent – recruiting further-education graduates.
Business and law, engineering and construction were the most popular disciplines from which both higher-education and FET graduates were recruited.