“How Do You Become an Astrophysicist? A Neurosurgeon? A Politician? A Ship’s Captain?”
From sailing a boat from Holland to Dublin, to shadowing politicians, teaching in primary and post primary schools including a trip to teach in a school in France, working on a dairy farm, getting the opportunity to work in a 5* hotel or seeing what it is like to work as one of the trades in a large construction site and more — the possibilities were endless for the nearly 1,400 secondary school students who took part in this year’s Career Skills Competition, run by Ireland’s leading career guidance platform, CareersPortal.
Today, the top 29 students were honoured at a special ceremony at the Clock Tower, Department of Education, where they gathered with families, teachers, and guidance counsellors from across the country to celebrate their achievements.
Now in its 15th year, the Career Skills Competition encourages senior cycle students who have completed a work experience placement to reflect deeply on the skills they developed and to explore a potential future career. To enter, students must research their chosen career, outline relevant education pathways, identify key skills and knowledge, and reflect on how the experience has influenced their aspirations.
This year, CareersPortal was proud to become an official Gaisce Challenge Partner, supporting students on their journey toward the Bronze Award. As part of the Gaisce programme, participants can complete the Career Skills Competition under the Personal Skill challenge area — gaining valuable self-development and career exploration experience in the process.
Students entered in English or Irish, either through a written submission or a Vlog. The competition continues to grow in popularity, with a 10% increase in entries this year — a testament to the value placed on career exploration and work experience in schools nationwide.
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A Broader Horizon of Careers Than Ever Before
This year’s entries showed a remarkable breadth of ambition and diversity, highlighting shifting trends among students. There was a notable rise in interest in politics and the diplomatic service, alongside growing interest in apprenticeships across trades like electricians, carpenters, and engineers. Careers in tourism and hospitality also gained momentum, especially in areas such as tour guiding, adventure sports, and hotel management.
Healthcare remains a strong draw, with many exploring medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social care and psychology. While teaching remains a popular choice, its appeal saw a slight dip compared to previous years.
Students explored an impressive array of career sectors — including farming, horticulture, and forestry; construction, architecture, and property; media, film, TV, and animation; animal and veterinary science; law and legal services; advertising, marketing, and public relations; tourism and hospitality; physics, mathematics, and space science; education and teaching; and a wide range of healthcare professions, to name just a few.
The Career Skills Competition is developed and run by CareersPortal, Ireland’s trusted and award-winning career guidance website. It plays a vital role in helping students make informed decisions about their future educational and career decisions. Students can access extensive resources on www.careersportal.ie, including career sector profiles, course information, detailed occupational information and work experience opportunities advertised by employers. The competition is sponsored by the Fáilte Ireland, Construction Industry Federation, Esero and An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) who presented special awards in their different areas.
Inspirational Stories from Around the Country
One standout student is Valeriia Stepanenko (1st Place in Leaving Cert Category), who came to Ireland from Ukraine in 2022 and has since become a vital part of her local community in Ramsgrange, Co. Wexford. Fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian, Valeriia volunteered with local enterprises and the county council. Her passion for politics led her to shadow Labour TD George Lawlor, and her ultimate goal is to become a Diplomat. Her journey is a powerful example of the competition’s impact on real-life aspirations.
Speaking at the event Eimear Sinnott, MD of CareersPortal, said:
This competition continues to showcase the incredible talent, curiosity, and ambition of Ireland’s young people. By exploring real-world careers and reflecting on the skills they’ve developed, students are not only planning for their futures — they’re actively shaping them.
Michelle Donovan from Fáilte Ireland said that
Tourism offers many exciting and rewarding career options across a range of sectors, in an industry that offers flexibility and lots of progression opportunities. Tourism allows you to build a career around your lifestyle and passions while developing key skills such as teamwork, time management and communication skills. Fáilte Ireland is delighted to facilitate students to engage with tourism businesses across the county to secure quality work experience placements via our Work Experience portal on TourismCareers.ie.
Speaking at the event, Brendan Owens, Research Ireland and ESERO Ireland, commented:
ESERO Ireland is proud to support this award to spotlight a student who brings to light the reality of a career in Space Science, Maths or Physics, busting stereotypes and uncovering the amazing opportunities that lie ahead of young people. This year’s winner of the Space Science, Maths and Physics Special Award shines a spotlight on the teamwork that is key to a successful career in Astrophysics. So often, the stereotype of the ‘lone genius’ is presented on screens or other media, and Aoibh has helped dismantle this image and replace it with a more realistic and collaborative perspective on the exciting opportunities this field presents to students.
Hubert Fitpatrick, Director General of CIF who presented the award for Construction:
CIF are delighted to have partnered with Careers Portal for this important construction award. The quality and wide variety of submissions we received across students who had undertaken work experience in architecture, engineering and construction trades was excellent. The winning candidate made a very compelling report on her work experience. We hope that these types of initiatives can help be a gateway for the next generation to explore the multiple career options open to them in the construction sector
Category Winners
Leaving Certificate (LCVP/LCA/LCE):
Valeriia Stepanenko, Ramsgrange Community School, Co. Wexford – Career Investigation: Diplomat
VLOG Category:
Maissane Chabira, Our Lady's Grove Secondary School, Dublin – Career Investigation: Primary School Teaching
Transition Year:
Anna Morrissey, Presentation Secondary School, Kilkenny – Career Investigation: Medicine
Irish Language Category:
Eva Ní Threinfhir, Coláiste Oiriall, Muineachán – Career Investigation: Translator
Fáilte Ireland Award (Tourism & Hospitality):
Avamay Broderick, Kilrush Community School, Co. Clare – Career Investigation: Hotel Management
Highly Commended: Ruby Campion, Presentation Secondary School, Kilkenny – Career Investigation: Tourism & Hospitality
Construction Careers (CIF):
Katie Hannon, Castlerea Community School, Roscommon – Career Investigation: Architecture
Space Science, Maths & Physics Careers:
Aoibh Killeen Boland, Jesus & Mary Secondary School, Crossmolina, Co. Mayo – Career Investigation: Astrophysics
Prizes & Recognition
Winners in each category received MacBook Air laptops, with second-place winners receiving iPads, and third-place students awarded Apple AirPods. All commended students also received prizes. In addition, four schools received €1,000 each to support their career guidance programmes.
Images from the day
You can access and download images from the ceremony here.
About the Career Skills Competition
The Career Skills Competition is developed and run by CareersPortal, Ireland’s trusted and award-winning career guidance website. It plays a vital role in helping students make informed decisions about their future educational and career decisions. Students can access extensive resources on www.careersportal.ie, including career sector profiles, course information, detailed occupational information and work experience opportunities advertised by employers. The competition is sponsored by the Fáilte Ireland, Construction Industry Federation, Esero and An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) who presented special awards in their categories.
Photography credit: Gary Ashe