The site was launched in 2008 and is a service to the following communities:

• 2nd Level Students
• 3rd Level Students and Graduates
• Adult Learners
• Jobseekers and their Support Services
• Parents and Guardians
• Career Guidance Professionals and Teachers

Over 1.1 million people have created their own Career Portfolio on the site and over 4.5 million visitors a year use the site to undertake career and educational research.

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 those needing or providing career guidance information and support. Public and private organisations partner with us to help disseminate the most useful and up-to-date information about career sectors, occupations, labour market information, and educational and training opportunities across all sectors of the economy. The CareersPortal website, career guidance programmes, and resources have grown hugely, both in content and in its user base since its launch in 2008, and is now receiving over 4.5 million visitors and 55 million page impressions per annum.

The company is based in Blackrock, Co. Dublin.

The team come from a broad range of educational and industry backgrounds. Experience in areas such as psychology, guidance counselling at both 2nd level and in the adult guidance services, human resources, educational and IT professionals with many years of experience working in schools, career services, IT and education.

Company Directors: Eimear Sinnott, John Carton

We greatly value the many contributions made from our REACH+ and MyFuture+ Advisory Group Members who are second-level and adult guidance counsellors and educators from all around the country. These expert groups meet regularly to shape the ongoing developments on the site and our bespoke second-level and adult guidance programmes.

Some of the main areas of the site which are all freely available and support career research across all our communities include.

• 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 right hand side of 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 in each sector daily. All this information is supported by engaging video material where available.
• Occupational Database - 1000+ 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 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 dedicated apprenticeship 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 job sites. We also carry daily news stories on new job announcements 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 junior and senior cycle guidance programmes (REACH Junior Cycle and REACH+ Career and College Preparation Programme for senior cycle)
• Subject Choice - a comprehensive section is available on the site on choosing subjects both at the Junior and Senior Cycles. 
• 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.
• National Career Skills Competition - this competition has been running now for 14 years and promotes and supports transferrable skills among students.  2nd level who take part in a work experience and who complete a career investigation are eligible to apply.

Our Career Guidance Programmes

CareersPortal has developed bespoke e-learning Career Guidance Programmes in collaboration with the guidance community to address their needs and the needs of their students and clients. 

The REACH+ Programmes for Junior and Senior Cycle students and their teachers and Guidance Counsellors.

MyFuture+ Programme for adult learners, graduates, and job seekers and their service providers.

These programmes provide a structured, managed career guidance resource that encourages an evidence-based approach to guidance planning and career management.

Since 2008, CareersPortal.ie has been working closely with guidance counsellors to provide the most up-to-date careers, education and labour market information, tools and resources. CareersPortal also partners with key stakeholders including employers, state bodies and education providers to ensure information is current and reflects emerging employment and educational opportunities for people of all ages.

CareersPortal partners with over 250 sector experts, organisations and educational providers who work with us directly to you keep the imformation up to date and relevant. Our partners range from national advisory bodies and authorities to professional membership or representative bodies, government agencies, key public and private organisations, educational providers and government departments.

Each partner provides valuable information for anyone interested in exploring the various career and educational opportunities in a particular career area. They help to raise awareness of opportunities within the sector for students, career seekers, guidance counsellors and parents, who may not otherwise have access to, or knowledge of, the full extent of opportunities in that sector.

Our partners outline educational pathways and provide occupational videos and interviews. They highlight skills shortages and jobs in demand in their areas and also keep you up to date with relevant, up-to-the-minute news items and details of important career events.

Digital Services Act

The Digital Services Act (“DSA”) regulates online intermediaries and platforms such as marketplaces, social networks, and content-sharing platforms. Its main goal is to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation. It ensures user safety, protects fundamental rights, and creates a fair and open online platform environment.

CareersPortal has certain obligations under the DSA. Articles 11 and 12 of the DSA require intermediary service providers to designate a single point of contact to enable direct communication with users and relevant European Institutions regarding the application of the DSA. These parties may contact us at info@careersportal.ie.

As per obligations under Art. 24(2) of the DSA, we can report that the average monthly active recipients for this site for the six months to March 2025 is less than 20 million.