PLANNING FOR A CAREER
The mission of Careers Portal is to provide the most up-to-date career information supporting career and educational research in an integrated, innovative, supportive and engaging manner.
Who is Careers Portal for:
The site was developed in to create a one stop national career information portal. It is a resource to the following key audiences:
- 2nd Level Students
- 3rd Level Students
- Adult Learners
- Jobseekers
- Parents and Guardians
- Career Guidance Professionals/Providers
Statistics
- 1.8 million Visitors a Year
- 4 Million Page Impressions a month
- 630,000 Registered Users with their own Career File/Career Portfolio
History
CareersPortal.ie was developed by Durrow Communications Ltd as a direct response to a report generated by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) in 2007, which recommended that Ireland develop a central career guidance portal. The site was officially launched by the Minister for Education and Science in April 2008.
The site has become an integral tool for guidance professionals throughout the country. It is supported by both public and private organisations, who partner with them in order to help disseminate the most useful and update information about careers and courses across all sectors of the economy.
The CareersPortal.ie website and guidance resources has grown hugely, both in content, and in its user base since its launch in 2008 and is now receiving over 4 million-page impressions a month.
Who are the core team?
CareersPortal are a core team of 10 specialists coming from a broad range of educational and industry backgrounds, including areas such as psychology, guidance counselling and human resources, who have many years’ experience working in schools, adult and community development and in career services. We also have an Advisory Group made up of Guidance Counsellors from both 2nd level and the adult guidance services who work across the country and who feed directly into the development of both the website and into our 2 guidance programmes.
What they do?
- The WorkXperience Website
- Reach + Career and College Preparation Programme – 2nd Level
- MyFuture+ – Guidance Programme for Adults
- The National Career Skills Competition
- Nationwide Guidance Training for both 2nd Level and Adult Guidance Services
- One to one Guidance Service
The CareersPortal Website
- Career File – Users of CareersPortal.ie are encouraged to create a personal Career File to assist in planning and managing their Career Development. Users ‘sign up’ (on the top left on the homepage) to create their file and are provided with:
- Self-Assessment Tools – enabling a user to find out how their interests, personality, skills etc. can tie-in with various different courses and careers. A free 8 page Career Report, which includes job and course matching, can be generated and printed.
- Course and Career tagging – users can create shortlists of courses and occupations which are stored for further exploration.
- Career ‘NotePad’ – an online notepad can be used to store up to twenty documents. Useful information for career research or planning a job search can be saved e.g. cover letters, CVs and contacts information.
- Employment Sectors – 33 career sectors are reviewed and analysed, highlighting the skills shortages in the individual sector, the occupation types employed, associated educational courses and sector news. It is even possible to search for live job vacancies on in each sector on a daily basis. All this information is supported by engaging video material where available.
- Occupational Database – approximately1000 occupations across all career sectors are profiled; information is provided on typical tasks and activities undertaken in the position, skills required, salary information, various entry routes and the educational qualifications and pathways are outlined. Users can search directly for jobs in these occupations. Video profiles of individuals working in a wide range of occupations and sectors are available.
- Employer Profiles – are presented within the various career sectors; their employment policies and procedures are outlined, how they recruit for their organisation is explained and what they look for in new employees revealed.
- Jobholder Interviews – hundreds of people employed in Ireland are interviewed about the choices they have made in their careers, the education they have received, their current job, what it involves and their advice to others interested in this area. CareersPortal.ie also links to another 1000+ career interviews across the internet.
- Education and Training – opportunities are outlined along with details on where to find courses that match a user’s interests and career aspirations. A searchable database of Further Education and PLC (Post Leaving Cert) courses and Higher Education and CAO courses is available with links to detailed course information on individual college websites.
- Progression Routes – detailed information is available on available QQI progression routes from Further Education and Training courses to Higher Education and CAO courses along with a PLC Points Calculator to assist in determining eligibility for individual courses.
- Apprenticeships – a section is available with full details on what is involved in each apprenticeship and where to go for further information and application details
- Labour Market Statistics – the most up-to-date Labour Market Information is provided and integrated across all sectors and occupations, clearly indicating where the jobs in demand are now or are likely to be in the future.
- Jobs/Current Vacancies – within the occupational database we link to current job vacancies across 4 popular jobsites. We also carry daily news stories on any new job announcement and provide links directly to those vacancies where available.
- Parents and Guardians we have produced a comprehensive section for parents and guardians to support their students in making informed career and college decisions including a section which answers all the most commonly asked questions.
- Guidance Professionals – comprehensive support resources and lesson plans are provided in the guidance section of the site which are entirely free for the guidance community to use.
- Teaching Resources for Career Guidance Professionals include a range of worksheets designed for use in the classroom / consultation room and with our senior cycle guidance programme (the REACH+ Career and College Preparation Programme)
- Subject Choice – a comprehensive section is available on the site on choosing subjects both at Junior and Senior Cycle. We have created a number of subject specific videos which highlights the subject details and how each subject links to different careers. We also bring together information from the NCCA, SEC, and other useful resources.
- WorkXperience – a free service that allows employers throughout Ireland to advertise work placements to Transition Year, LCVP, LCA, Leaving Cert and FET students. It includes a range of resources for Students, Teachers, Parents, and Employers.
Saol Oibre
The core tools and resources form CareersPortal are also available through the medium of Irish on SaolOibre.ie. This resource allows users who are studying or working through the medium of Irish receive all the information on career sectors, occupations, labour market information and self-assessments exercises through the Irish Language.
Tá an t-ábhar ar fad a bhaineann le gairmeacha beatha ar fáil “as gaeilge” ar Saoloibre.ie a forbraíodh i bpáirt le COGG, Forás na Gaeilge agus le hÚdarás na Gaeltachta. Do na daoine sin ar mian leo treoracha gairme a fháil i nGaeilge, cuirimid a lán de na modúil chéanna ar fáil atá ar ár suíomh eile www.saoloibre.ie. Is féidir le mic léinn leagan Gaeilge dár dTriail Spéise Gairme a líonadh isteach agus Tuarascáil Ghairme a chur i gcló dóibh féin. Is féidir leo gairmeacha, earnálacha fostaíochta agus Cúrsaí CAO a bhrabhsáil freisin.
This resource has been developed with the assistance of An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta (COGG), Foras na Gaeilge, Údarás na Gaeltachta, NCGE and The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
STUDENT GRANTS
The Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020 is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the ESF with a special allocation from the Youth Employment Initiative. The main financial support available for eligible students attending full-time further and higher education courses is the student grant, which may include a maintenance grant and/or a fee grant, depending on eligibility.
The means-tested Student Grant Scheme is administered by the local authorities, Education and Training Boards (ETBs) and Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) on behalf of the Department. The dedicated website www.studentfinance.ie provides comprehensive information on student grants and other sources of financial assistance such as the Student Assistance Fund, the Fund for Students with Disabilities and the Free Fees Initiative.
https://www.education.ie/en/Learners/Information/Student-Grants/
STUDENT WELLBEING - JIGSAW
They are called Jigsaw, The National Centre for Youth Mental Health. There to ensure that no young person feels alone, isolated and disconnected from others around them. They provide vital supports to young people with their mental health by working closely with communities across Ireland.
What they do
- Intervene early to support young people’s mental health. We are the only mental health service in the country with an exclusive focus on 12-25-year-olds.
- Intervene early to support young people’s mental health. We are the only mental health service in the country with an exclusive focus on 12-25-year-olds. Our early intervention model provides tangible supports for young people before they reach the point of acquiring a formal mental health diagnosis.
- They have 13 Jigsaw Services in communities across Ireland providing mental health support to young people, and we are continuing to grow year on year. Our Jigsaw Services provide young people aged 12-25 with a place they can visit for free and confidential support from trained mental health professionals.
- Educate and equip communities to help young people. Our research is the foundation on which we build our workshops for adults and young people alike. We believe that future resilience is based on early intervention and mentoring.
- We are creating an Ireland where young people are connected to their communities. We are working to build strong communities where young people feel they have real emotional connections with their friends, families, teachers, and peers.
- We listen to young people. For years, decisions were made about young people without consulting with young people. We are changing that. At Jigsaw, our Youth Advisory Panel’s opinions and contributions are vital to the running the running of our organisation. They guide our thinking, they influence our decision-making, they help recruit our people and are central to our organisation.
- We work with the best mental health experts using evidence-driven methodology. We employ evidence-based models, devised by some of the world’s leading mental healthcare experts, based on extensive research.
- We are changing the way Ireland thinks about and responds to young people’s mental health. Breaking the stigma is important. At Jigsaw, we know that thanks to the sustained efforts of communities, organisations, charities and young people themselves, mental health is well and truly on the agenda. However, breaking the stigma alone is not enough. It is essential for our young people’s wellbeing that we respond at the right time, in the right way. We work with Government, the HSE and other policymakers to make sure the right frameworks are being put in place to help Ireland’s young people for generations to come.
STUDENT WELLBEING - SPUN OUT
SpunOut.ie is Ireland’s youth information website created by young people, for young people. They provide information to around 140,000+ active readers each month. Established in 2005, their vision is help create an Ireland where young people aged between 16 and 25 are empowered with the information they need to live active, happy, and healthy lives.
They aim to educate and inform our readers about the importance of holistic wellbeing and how good health can be maintained, both physically and mentally. They believe we should have easy access to relevant, reliable, and non-judgemental information and we are proud to provide our readers with a dynamic, responsive website full of up-to-date, factual information, free of any shame or bias. And you can learn more in their comprehensive website here:
STUDENT RENTING IN IRELAND
USI Homes
USI are using homes.usi.ie to appeal to homeowners in all over Ireland to consider offering accommodation to students during term time, as it fears the cost of renting may lead to some students being “priced out” of an education. With rents increasing and accommodation being scarce, they want your help to tackle this issue. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) received a grant of €30,000 provided by the HEA to the Union of Students’ in Ireland to progress short-term solutions for students in need of accommodation. In the short term, one of the best options to increase supply is for people to rent a spare room in their home to students. It’s a win-win situation, as students get accommodation and homeowners can earn up to €14,000 a year tax-free doing this. The funding provided was used to develop homes.usi.ie, to communicate more effectively to student and homeowners, and to carry out research into this important issue. You can learn more here:
UniNest Ireland
Uninest Student Residences began our journey in 2014 and strive to provide the best living experience for students in Cork and Dublin, offering stylish, secure and sociable student living. They are plain-speaking, upfront and proactive, aiming to provide exceptional levels of customer service to our residents and valued partners. They strive to be clear and upfront in our communications and costs, we listen to our residents, their families and our educational partners. Uninest Student Residences is part of the Global Student Accommodation family, with experience of student accommodation in cities across Ireland, Germany, Dubai and the UK. Our locations are carefully chosen to ensure they are close to many major universities and colleges in the city, so you’ll save money on transport. Their in-house maintenance team takes care of repairs and all your bills are included (that’s water, electric, gas & broadband), so you can focus on your studies. Their carefully chosen locations, inclusive rents, and well-equipped living spaces make student life in Dublin the best it can be, but we know that moving away from home for the first time can be daunting for both students and parents.
Homestay
Homestay is an Irish and International rental housing portal.
https://www.homestay.com/ireland/
ErasMusu
ErasMusu is an international student housing portal and blog.
https://erasmusu.com/en/erasmus-student-housing
College Cribs
CollegeCribs.ie is Ireland’s dedicated student and young professional accommodation search engine.
Threshold
Get Housing Advice
Threshold provides a wide range of information, advice, and downloads on our website. To help you find what you are looking for they have divided this into the three key stages in the lifespan of a tenancy:
- seeking private rented accommodation,
- dealing with problems during your tenancy,
- ending a tenancy
If you cannot find what you are looking for or need to talk directly to an advisor you can contact your nearest office in Cork, Dublin or Galway through our national freephone helpline 1800 454 454 Monday to Friday 9 am to 9 pm.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION INNOVATION AND SKILLS
The Department of Education and Skills, in accordance with the Public Service Management Act 1997, is developing a new Strategy Statement for the period 2019-2021 and we would welcome your input. The Strategy Statement will be informed by the
- Programme for Government
- Key Government priorities
- Policy frameworks and other significant issues,
The approved document will set out the Department’s strategic vision for the period 2019-2021. The intention is that the new strategy statement will build on progress to-date, allow for the implementation of recently introduced reforms and continue to improve the quality and effectiveness of the education system for all learners. The Strategy Statement will set clear goals and high-level priority actions to achieve our vision and to set key strategic directions that will provide for a period of continuous improvement and reform. Each year we will develop an Action Plan framed by the goals of the Statement of Strategy which will outline our high-level work programme for the year. The core goals in our Action Plan for Education 2016-2019 – Department of Education and Skills Strategy Statement are set out below: 
Get Involved and have your say here:
IRISH COUNCIL FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
ICOS was founded in 1970 and its offices are based in Dublin on the Morehampton Road. They collaborate with our members, student organisations and government agencies to ensure that international education policy and practice in Ireland is quality-driven and remains firmly focused on the educational and social needs of all students.
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