Healthcare
Healthcare Occupations
Employment growth over the five-year period for healthcare occupations was above the national average; employment growth was particularly strong between 2021 and 2023, relating mainly to nurses. Employment permits continued to be a significant source of skills for these occupations. A 2022 ESRI report estimated that the healthcare workforce (e.g. doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, various therapists) will need to grow by between 1.7% and 2.1% on average annually for the forecast period to 2035 in order to meet recruitment demands in acute hospitals alone arising from a number of factors (including the implementation of Sláintecare). The number of training places for many healthcare occupations is expected to increase strongly in the coming years, particularly for nursing, medicine, and therapy related courses, which may go some way in alleviating current issues with sourcing many of the healthcare occupations.
Skills shortages:
Medical practitioners
Nurses