Qualifications for working in Ireland

There are two main qualifications for working in construction in Ireland.

The Solas Safe Pass is required for all individuals working on a construction site and is intended to ensure that over time everybody working in the industry has a basic understanding of health and safety, in order to make sure that they are able to keep themselves and others on site safe. To qualify an individual must complete a one day course (costing around €80-€100 depending on the provider) which incorporates a variety of modules covering basic health and safety awareness and knowledge. These include:

Promoting a safety culture
Duties and responsibilities at work
Accident reporting and prevention
Working at heights
Excavations and confined spaces
Working with Electricity Underground and overhead services
Personal Protective Equipment
Use of Hand Held Equipment, tools, and machinery
Safe use of vehicles
Noise and vibration
Manual Handling
Health and Hygiene

The CSCS qualification is required for operatives- While it is standard practice on many sites for all workers to hold a CSCS card it is a legal requirement in the case of anyone working in Plant, Scaffolding, Roofing, Roadworking, Mobile Access Tower, and Shotfiring. CSCS programmes are delivered by a wide range of Solas approved training organisations, which can be found here.

A list of approved trainers for both CSCS and Safepass qualifications can be found here

The first step towards gaining these qualifications is to follow the links above to find your local approved trainer/training organisation, the contact details of which will be listed.

Operatives in Ireland must also be eligible to work in the country (requiring a permit for non EU citizens), a working understanding of English, and documentary proof of ID.