DISCOVER THE PUBLIC SERVICE, IRELAND’S LARGEST EMPLOYER
TEACHER AND GUIDANCE
COUNSELLOR RESOURCES
Here, you’ll find everything you need to support your students in exploring the public sector and the careers they can access - all in one section. This suite of newly adapted resources includes a wealth of teachable moments for TY, LCA and LCVP classes to help demystify the public sector in a fun, convenient and engaging way.
HOW IT WORKS
Each lesson plan focuses on a specific topic in relation to careers in the public sector and includes:
- Classroom PowerPoint Slides
- Teacher Lesson Guidelines
- Student Worksheets and activities
- Teacher Worksheet Answers (where relevant)
- Download Teacher Resource Guide
We recommend using the ‘Introduction to the Public Sector’ lesson plan to get you started. From here, you can use as many or as little resources to suit the needs of your class. You can download our Guide to Resources here for an overview of the lesson content.
All lesson plans are available to download below.
TRANSITION YEAR GROUPS
We understand different classes will have different learning objectives and timescales. For TY groups we would recommend that students could use this site for self-directed learning about the public sector. SIGN UP to our mailing list below and receive all the latest information about our upcoming resources!
THE LESSON PLANS
INTRODUCING THE
PUBLIC SECTOR
As an introduction to the public sector, students will explore the public and private sector, sub-sectors within the public sector, and how to use CareersPortal.ie to search for public sector roles.
CAREER PATHWAYS IN
THE PUBLIC SECTOR
In this lesson, students will learn about entry points to career paths, the progression pathways and hierarchies within the civil service, and will ‘deep dive’ into a public sector role.
LOOKING AT
THE CAREER LADDER
In this lesson, students will learn how to identify what the career ladder is and relate qualifications, training, experience and interests to it.
MEET JACOB
In this lesson students will summarise the information from the previous lessons using a real life example and interact with video footage of a public sector employee, who shares their story.
MEET JULIANA
In this lesson students will summarise the information from the previous lessons using a real life example and interact with video footage of a public sector employee, who shares their story.
If you have any feedback on how we can improve, or if you have any questions, please email
FEEDBACK
We’d love to hear your feedback on our resources. Let us know what you love or what you would like to see added. You can directly email us your feedback, we are available at
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“It’s the culture of the school”
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“There is great work in it”
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“You are probably ahead of the times”
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“Great range of resources on offer which is a joy for teachers!”
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“The resources are fantastic”
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“I love, love, love what you sent! It’s fabulous”
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“It’s about time”
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“I found everything to be extremely helpful”
TEACHER FAQs
1. What is the Public Sector?
When looking at career sectors, it is important to note that many careers are available in the Public Sector as well as in the Private Sector.
What is the difference between these two sectors you may ask?
Government-run organisations are part of what is known as the Public Sector. The public sector is made up of people from a variety of backgrounds, all working together to provide public services to the people of Ireland. We advise and assist in the running of Government Departments, Local Authorities (such as your local county council) and state agencies.
The private sector is the part of the economy that is run by individuals and companies for profit and is not state-controlled, while charities and other non-profit organisations are part of the voluntary sector.
Many careers and roles exist in more than one of these career sectors, which means that skills and experience from one sector can be utilised in the others.
2. What is the role of Publicjobs.ie?
Publicjobs.ie is the website where we advertise all Civil and Public Service jobs. It is one of the main access route for people interested in joining a career in the civil and public sector. Job seekers can apply to career opportunities through publicjobs.ie as opportunities arise. Publicjobs.ie also manage the recruitment process from application to testing, interview and job offer.
3. Who is the Government of Ireland?
There are a wide variety of roles, types of jobs and important work that people employed in the Public Sector do. The Government of Ireland employs over 300,000 people to provide public services to Irish Citizens. These public services are split into three sections:
- Government Departments which include Education, Health, Housing, Transport, Environment and Justice amongst others.
- State Agencies that provide services such as HSE, An Garda Síochána and RTÉ.
- Local Authorities: You might know these better as your local City or County Council.
For more visit: https://www.gov.ie/en/help/departments
4. What are the Civil Service Grades?
The civil service grades, from Clerical Officer to Secretary General, relate to seniority and pay scales as opposed to specific roles and duties. Almost all private sector roles exist in the civil service, your grade determines your level of seniority within the organisational structure from operational activities up to senior leadership.
