Independent career guidance · County Kildare
Kildare runs on more than
horsepower.
Between Maynooth's lecture halls, Newbridge's cleanrooms and the gallops at the Curragh, Kildare students have a wider spread of real routes into work than almost any county in the country. The hard part isn't finding a pathway — it's finding yours.
Kildare, in numbers
- County population246,977
- Hold a third-level qualification49%
- In work, April 2022114,800+
- Growth in employment since 2016+20%
Source: CSO Census of Population 2022, Profiles 7 & 8.
Kildare at a glance
The county your school doesn't always show you
Every figure below is drawn from official sources — nothing here is estimated.
Four ways Kildare gets to work
The routes actually open to you
Careers advice in Ireland defaults to "get CAO points, pick a course." Kildare's own economy tells a wider story — these are the four routes with real, documented capacity in the county right now.
University, on your own doorstep
Maynooth University, founded in 1997 out of the secular faculties of St Patrick's College, is the only university in the Republic of Ireland not situated in a city — and it's fully inside County Kildare. It now teaches over 16,000 students across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, meaning a huge share of Kildare's own CAO applicants can study for a full degree without leaving the county.
PLC and further education, close to home
Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB), headquartered at Áras Chill Dara in Naas, is the statutory ETB for the county and patron of 23 post-primary schools across Kildare and Wicklow — including community colleges in Naas, Celbridge, Maynooth, Kildare town and beyond that run PLC and QQI-accredited provision. KWETB also operates a dedicated Further Education and Training Centre in Athy, giving south Kildare students a full-time FET option that doesn't require a move to Dublin.
Apprenticeship, backed by global employers
Kildare's employer base isn't small local firms — it includes some of the country's largest industrial operations. Pfizer's Newbridge site alone accounted for 6 of the 22 apprenticeship places offered nationally in its 2026 intake: four QC Laboratory apprenticeships and one craft apprenticeship each in Mechanical Automation & Maintenance Fitting and Electrical Instrumentation, all run through SOLAS's National Apprenticeship Programme. It's a genuine, earn-while-you-learn alternative to the CAO route, sitting alongside a Manufacturing sector that already employs roughly 11,800 people in the county.
Source: Leinster Leader, Pfizer 2026 apprenticeship programme
The one pathway unique to Kildare: racing
No other county has this route built into its education system the way Kildare does. RACE (the Racing Academy and Centre of Education), based on the former Tully estate beside the Curragh, was founded in 1973 by veterinarian Stanley Cosgrove, with Derek O'Sullivan as its first director, specifically to professionalise the training of apprentice jockeys and stable staff. It's jointly funded by Horse Racing Ireland, Kildare and Wicklow ETB, and a share of racing prize money — and it currently runs a six-week jockey preparation course followed by a six-week trainer placement, alongside shorter courses in equine nutrition, transport, schooling and administration. Its campus also houses the Irish School of Farriery. Five minutes away, the Curragh is Ireland's largest racecourse and hosts all five Irish Classic Flat races — the industry this training feeds is not abstract, it's visible from the road.
Source: Wikipedia, Racing Academy and Centre of Education · County Kildare
The bigger picture
Kildare is Dublin's engine room, not its suburb
"More than 40% of workers living in Celbridge and Leixlip commute into Dublin city and suburbs."
It's tempting to treat Kildare as an overflow county for Dublin jobs, and the commuting numbers back that up in part — the average worker's commute runs to 34 minutes, and towns like Celbridge and Leixlip send well over 40% of their workforce into Dublin each day. But that's only half the picture. Kildare's own labour force participation rate, 64%, runs well ahead of the 61% national average, and the number of people working in the county grew by 20% between 2016 and 2022 alone, reaching over 114,800.
Source: CSO Census 2022, Profile 7 — Employment, Occupations and Commuting
Some of that work never leaves the county at all. Intel has run its European manufacturing base from Leixlip, Co. Kildare since 1989 — the site of the first 300mm wafer fab built outside the United States — and by 2023 employed roughly 4,900 people directly there, with over €30 billion invested on campus including the Intel 4 and Intel 3 process lines at Fab 34. Add in Wholesale & Retail Trade (around 15,500 jobs) and Human Health & Social Work (around 12,000), and Kildare's three largest employment sectors alone account for close to 40,000 jobs. Whatever route you choose after school — degree, PLC, apprenticeship, or the yard — the employers waiting at the end of it are, more often than not, already in the county.
Sources: Intel Ireland, Leixlip campus · CSO Census 2022, Profile 7
Stop guessing your CAO list. Start narrowing it.
The CAO Course Match Test is a psychometric and interest assessment built for Leaving Cert students choosing between university, PLC, apprenticeship and specialist routes — including the ones unique to a county like Kildare. Answer honestly, get a personalised report, and go into CAO applications with a shortlist that actually reflects how you think and work.
- Covers CAO degree, higher certificate and further-education course types
- Built by CourseCompass Education Limited, an Irish EdTech company (CRO 810847)
- Results delivered straight after checkout — no waiting list
- One-off payment, no subscription
You'll be redirected to a secure Revolut payment page. Delivered by CourseCompass Education Limited, an Irish registered company.
Frequently asked
Questions Kildare students actually ask
Does the CAO Course Match Test tell me if I'll get the points for a course?
No. It doesn't predict CAO points cut-offs, which change every year and aren't knowable in advance. What it does is match your interests, strengths and working style against course types across every CAO level — degree, higher certificate and apprenticeship-linked routes — so your list reflects courses you'd actually want to study, not just ones you think you can get.
I want to stay near home — does that limit my options in Kildare?
Less than most counties. Kildare has Maynooth University on your doorstep, plus KWETB PLC provision at community colleges across the county and a dedicated Further Education and Training Centre in Athy, so a lot of routes — degree, PLC and traineeship — are reachable without moving out of county.
What's the actual difference between a PLC course and a CAO degree?
A PLC (Post Leaving Certificate) course, run through KWETB at colleges like Naas Community College or Athy FET Centre, is typically one to two years, more hands-on, and often used either to enter a career directly or to build QQI credits toward a CAO higher-education place. A CAO degree route is a direct application through the CAO system to a university or institute of technology. Neither is a fallback for the other — they suit different ways of learning.
Are there apprenticeships in Kildare, or do I have to leave the county?
Yes. Pfizer's Newbridge site alone ran 6 of the 22 national apprenticeship places offered in its 2026 intake, spanning QC laboratory apprenticeships and craft apprenticeships in mechanical automation and electrical instrumentation, all under SOLAS's National Apprenticeship Programme. Apprenticeship places are competitive and employer-led, so timing and eligibility are worth checking directly with the employer or SOLAS.
I'm interested in horses and racing — is there an actual training route, or is it just word of mouth?
There's a formal route. RACE (the Racing Academy and Centre of Education), based on the former Tully estate near the Curragh, was set up in 1973 specifically to train jockeys and stable staff, and is jointly funded by Horse Racing Ireland, Kildare and Wicklow ETB, and a share of racing prize money. It currently runs a six-week jockey preparation course followed by a six-week trainer placement, alongside shorter courses in equine nutrition, transport, schooling and administration, and its campus also houses the Irish School of Farriery.
What do I actually get for the €34.99 and how long does it take?
The CAO Course Match Test is a single online psychometric and interest assessment, usually 20–30 minutes, that produces a personalised report matching your profile against course types and career areas. It's a one-off payment, no subscription, and the report is generated straight after checkout.