EirQuest

Introducing young people to the world of work and higher education

Careers inspiration

An extensive careers guidance programme for students planning to take the Irish Leaving Certificate. EirQuest matches students’ interests and abilities with appropriate career areas and helps them to make soundly based and well-researched decisions. See our tools for guidance counsellors in Ireland, or watch the EirQuest webinar for guidance counsellors.

Pupils in school uniform working at computers in a school IT room

Smiling pupil taking a folder from a shelf alongside classmates

Experience the joy of discovery

EirQuest analyses individual student responses to 300 questions, and produces an Interest Profile across 51 interest areas. Students are given personal use of an online research platform with unlimited access to WORKBRIEF: a comprehensive, up-to-date source of over 500 careers.

EirQuest

Age 14 – 17 years

An Introduction to Careers

EirQuest builds a clear picture of a young person’s strongest occupational and academic interests, as well as their related abilities and personal qualities. In addition to detailing careers with which the student is likely familiar, it also highlights new possibilities that they may not have previously considered. Results are broken down into well-matched career areas (e.g. law) and related careers (e.g. barrister, solicitor).

EirQuest on a laptop showing a grid of engineering careers, each with a photo and an Explore button

EirQuest helps students by:

Revealing interests, inherent abilities, and personal qualities

Identifying from these, a range of interest-led careers across a wealth of industries

Providing a structured framework for research into the demands of potential careers

Establishing a basis for the choice of Leaving Certificate subjects to meet the entry requirements of future careers or courses

Acting as a focal point for discussions with staff and parents

Challenging their career choices by laying bare the realities and expectations of working in those occupations

Encouraging them to personally reflect on their results, consider their values, and address any preconceived notions

How EirQuest Works

Registering for EirQuest

Students are registered through their school, gaining access to the online platform to begin their career exploration journey. Teachers or guidance counsellors guide the process.

Completing the Assessment

Students answer 300 carefully designed questions, taking around 30-40 minutes of answering time. They can stop at any point and return later, with their progress saved. The questionnaire explores their interests, abilities, and aspirations, providing a solid foundation for career guidance.

Receiving Career Matches

Upon completion, students get a personalised report with their Interest Profile across 51 interest areas and the career areas that match them best, with over 500 careers to explore in WORKBRIEF. This clear, ordered profile is a helpful starting point for exploring careers.

Exploring Career Insights

Each career match includes detailed information about job roles, required skills, earnings potential, and educational pathways, helping students understand their options in depth.

Key Features

Flexible assessment timing.

Instant, tailored feedback.

Reflection prompts to plan next steps.

Available in Irish and English.

MyAptitude add-on: Department-listed in Ireland and BPS-registered.

EirQuest simplifies career exploration, giving students the tools to make confident, informed decisions about their future.

Additional educational needs

Supporting students with additional educational needs

Build breaks into career exploration when needed. EirQuest lets students with additional educational needs (AEN), including students with special educational needs, stop at any point and return later with their progress saved, rather than complete the questionnaire in one sitting.

EirQuest

Stop, take a break, carry on

Students can stop at any point and return later with their progress saved, so they don’t need to finish in one sitting or start again after a break.

EirQuest

Display settings students choose

Customisable fonts, a high contrast mode, a colourblind option and an optional dyslexia font are available within the programme to suit different display preferences.

MyAptitude (separate assessment)

Extra time comes with MyAptitude

Where students also take MyAptitude, they can choose 25% extra time in each section, selected separately for the sections where they need it. EirQuest itself is not timed in this way.

These are settings within the programmes. They are not a diagnosis, and choosing extra time in MyAptitude does not give a student extra time in school or public examinations.

Discover more

Discover how we can help with careers advice and guidance to ensure individuals make better decisions for their own unique career journey. Download our full MyFutureChoice programme overview and see how we can help you.

Brochure Request

We have been using EirQuest & MyAptitude (formerly Cambridge Profile) for a number of years now, and get back very positive feedback, particularly from parents who are able to discuss the report at home with their son/daughter and find it is a great help for choosing subject and career choices.

Tony O’GaraSligo Grammar School

Appreciation of MyFutureChoice Programmes by Brian Mooney

“I administer MyAptitude Tests alongside the EirQuest interest inventory to all incoming 5th year students during Transition Year, prior to them making their Leaving Certificate subject choices.

To ensure the best use of the limited hours now available to all Guidance Counsellors to provide a comprehensive guidance service, I find the following system works well.

On receiving the results from MyFutureChoice, I present the findings of the students’ workbooks in three two-hour sessions to about thirty students accompanied by at least one parent. During the afternoon presentation some teaching colleagues drop by to explain their particular subject to both students and
parents. I finish the presentation by relating the full range of subjects on offer in 5th year to the findings in each student’s MyFutureChoice workbook.

Brian Mooney, Fellow and former President of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors

Smiling pupil in a school blazer holding a book in a school library

Having used these instruments for many years now, I find them highly effective in facilitating student subject choices. The percentage of students who subsequently request a change is insignificant.

I have had a similar positive experience with MyUniChoices in helping students clarify their third level college choices at the beginning of 6th year. The MyUniChoices workbook provides each student with a detailed description of their preferred course areas and the relevant courses available in Ireland, the UK and in recent years, programmes taught exclusively in English across European universities. Therefore, I have no hesitation in recommending MyFutureChoice’s programmes to you, my colleagues.”

Brian Mooney is a Fellow and a former President of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors

Frequently Asked Questions

What is EirQuest?

EirQuest is a careers guidance programme for students aged 14 to 17 in Irish post-primary schools. Students answer 300 questions about their interests, and EirQuest matches them to career areas and related careers, including ones they had not considered.

It was built for Ireland, in English and Irish, around Leaving Cert subject choice and the CAO, and is designed to support the guidance counsellor rather than replace them.

Which year should students take EirQuest?

EirQuest works best in Transition Year or 3rd Year, before students choose their Leaving Cert subjects. Some schools also revisit it in 5th Year, as students start to plan their CAO choices.

Students keep access to their programmes for life, so they can return to their results as often as they like.

How long does EirQuest take?

Students answer 300 questions online, which takes around 30 to 40 minutes.

They can do it in class or at home, on a phone, tablet or computer, and get their report as soon as they finish.

Is EirQuest a career test?

EirQuest is a careers interest inventory: a structured questionnaire that profiles each student across 51 interest areas, not a quick online test.

Combined with the MyAptitude tests, it shows students both what they enjoy and what they do well, and where the two meet.

How does EirQuest help with Leaving Cert subject choice?

Each career area links to the subjects and courses it usually needs, so students can choose Leaving Cert subjects that keep their preferred careers open and meet course entry requirements.

Guidance counsellors use the results in one-to-one conversations and at subject-choice evenings with parents, so families can see the reasons behind each choice.

What is in the EirQuest report?

An Interest Profile across 51 interest areas, in order of strength, with the best-matched career areas, worksheets, a Mind Map and an action plan.

Students also get a Student Portal with WORKBRIEF, which has over 500 careers to explore, plus reflection pages to record their research.

Can students do EirQuest in Irish?

Yes. EirQuest is available in Irish and English, and students get their report in the language they choose.

That makes it a natural fit for Gaelscoileanna and Gaeltacht schools, and for any student who prefers to work in Irish.

Should students take MyAptitude with EirQuest?

We recommend it. MyAptitude adds timed aptitude tests to EirQuest’s interest results, so students and guidance counsellors see where interests and abilities meet.

MyAptitude is included on the Department of Education and Youth’s published list of psychometric assessments and is registered with the British Psychological Society.

How do schools pay for EirQuest?

All licences are invoiced in euros (€). The price depends on the programmes you choose and how many students take them.

Ask us for a quote or book a demo to see EirQuest first. You can also try it free with one of your students.

Does EirQuest need to be completed in one sitting?

No single sitting is required. Students can stop at any point, take a break and return later, with their progress saved so they don’t need to start again.

The 30 to 40 minutes is a guide to the time spent answering questions. Where students also take MyAptitude, that is a separate timed assessment, with optional 25% extra time in each section.

What display options are available?

Students have several ways to personalise the display. All MyFutureChoice programmes offer customisable fonts, a high contrast mode, a colourblind option and an optional dyslexia font.

Students choose the settings themselves, so they can find a presentation that suits their needs and preferences, whether or not they have additional needs.

Supporting Materials and Resources

WORKBRIEF

WORKBRIEF is accessed by student’s completing EirQuest via their Student Portal. Careers are presented to the students using the acronym WORKBRIEF, headed as below

hat is involved?

pportunities for training

equirements for entry

ind of person

road outlook

elated occupations

mpact on lifestyle

arnings potential

urther information

These headings co-ordinate with the career analysis forms used in the EirQuest results report and career directory.

MyUniChoices on a laptop showing a Psychology course at Waterford Institute of Technology

Degree Course Descriptions

Degree Course Descriptions is available as an online licensed resource as part of the MyUniChoices programme.

The descriptions cover over 110 degree course areas, giving information and guidance not easily available elsewhere. They are written by heads of department and senior lecturers at major universities – people who have expert knowledge of their courses from the inside, and understand the doubts and difficulties facing students.

Each description gives an overview of a typical course area, its content, career opportunities, related degrees, recommended reading and websites.

Additionally, each course has a Self-Check Questionnaire so that students can assess the suitability of a course (or make comparisons with another) using a list of 20 relevant items.

Online Resources

MyUniChoices Personal Statement Writer on a laptop, with a checklist beside the writing area

Student Portal

Each student is given access to their own Student Portal where they receive feedback, carry out research, and reflect on their findings. The Student Portal has numerous tools to assist with the student’s decision-making, eg. students can complete action plans and personal reflections. Students have the opportunity to revisit the programme as often as they like.

MyHQ

MyHQ is an online administration system for staff. It provides an archive for all EirQuest, MyAptitude, and MyUniChoices reports and enables staff to monitor the students’ progress. This facility ensures tutorial work and interviewing can take place seamlessly. There is also access to MyFutureChoice’s online resource library which include PowerPoint presentations, parent brochures, and other supportive documentation.