The removal of both agricultural mechanics and HGV mechanics from the State’s Ineligible List of Occupations (ILO) has been welcomed by the Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA), the industry’s all-island trade body.   

Michael Farrelly, the executive director of the FTMTA

Over the past 18 months, the FTMTA has “been working hard to address the current shortfall of suitably qualified technicians in our industry,” according to Michael Farrelly, the Association’s executive director.

“We took a multi-faceted approach to this issue, having engaged with the various training bodies and within the industry itself to try and raise our industry’s profile while also drawing attention to the opportunities that a career as an agricultural technician can yield,” he said. 

A second element to the FTMTA’s campaign - to tackle the immediate shortage of technicians within the industry - was to examine how to source technicians from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). 

However, this approach had previously been stymied due to the presence of mechanics on the Department of Enterprise Trade & Employment’s ILO, which meant such professionals were ineligible for General Employment Permits (GEP).

Said Mr Farrelly: “With this in mind, the FTMTA undertook an extensive lobbying campaign to have both agricultural mechanics and HGV mechanics removed from the ILO. This campaign was strongly supported by our Executive Council members who carried out extensive lobbying of elected representatives in their local areas. As part of  this strategy, we made a public consultation submission to the Interdepartmental Group (IDG) as part of a review of the occupations’ list last August.  

“The IDG subsequently recommended that both professions should be removed from the ILO. This welcome development means that mechanics from outside the EEA can apply for employment under a general work permit and should help to make an impact on the shortage of technicians in our industry.” 

Michael Farrelly concluded: “We will continue to engage with the Government, Solas, education bodies and industry partners to raise awareness about the opportunities available within our industry and to promote the career paths that are open to qualified agricultural mechanics.” 

According to the Department, the ILO is organised via the Standard Occupational Classification system (SOC 2010) which “classifies workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data”. The updated list came into effect on December 20th last. 

For information on General Work Permits, visit https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/workplace-and-skills/employment-permits/permit-types/general-employment-permit/