Will my UK NVQ Health & Social Care qualifications be valid in Ireland?

I am an Irish citizen who wants to return home and I am currently working as a care support worker with adults with Autism over in England. I have a NVQ 2 and a NVQ 3 in health and social care and am also a shift leader on nights. I do not have a degree but 2 National Vocational Qualifications and all up to date in house training. Over here we have care assistants who tend to work with the Elderly and Care support workers who tend to work with the Challenging behavior and learning difficulty's. When I come over next year can I use my qualifications and Training certificates to help me to get a job? 

Yes, you should be able to use your qualifications for equivalent career support worker roles over here in Ireland. In order to be sure, you should look up some job descriptions on Irish Jobs and see what they specify re qualifications. Then approach the employer and ask them directly if your qualifications will fulfill their requirements. If you try a few job roles in this way, and all express doubt, then it may be that you need your NVQ equivalency to Irish level 2/3 qualifications tested. You can do this via the National Qualifications Authority (NQAI) under the Qualifications Recognition process – see http://www.qualificationsrecognition.ie/

This type of work is very much in demand in Ireland, so you should have no problem finding a position when you return, provided you check your qualifications out in advance.

Good luck