What we look for
- Repairs a small damaged area and blends it into the surrounding panel so the repair cannot be seen, without respraying the whole panel.
- Pushes, pulls and taps dents out without breaking the paint.
- Brings paintwork to a showroom finish and puts defects right.
- Knows what they are working on and how to match it.
- Washing and valeting on their own are not this work.
- Looks at damage and decides what can be smart-repaired versus what must go to the body shop or be replaced, works alone or in a small team to a handover deadline without being chased, and checks the finished vehicle under proper light before it goes to the customer.
- Dependable, sustained relevant employment and sees jobs through.
Questions you'll be asked
These are the questions the application form asks. You do not need to answer yes to every one — they tell us where your experience actually sits.
- How many years' experience do you have doing smart repair, dent repair, paint correction or vehicle cosmetic work
- Which of these have you actually done? List ALL that apply — SMART / spot paint repair (bumpers, scratches, stone chips), paintless dent removal (PDR), machine polishing and paint correction, alloy wheel refurbishment, plastic or trim repair, leather or vinyl repair, window tinting, signage and graphics, accessory or leather-kit fitting, full body-shop panel and paint work, valeting and presentation
- Describe how you repair a scuffed bumper corner from start to finish. (e.g. cleaning and degreasing, sanding grades, plastic filler or bumper repair compound, feather-edging, masking off, adhesion promoter and primer, mixing to a paint code, spot gun or aerosol, blending the basecoat into the panel, clear and blender, flatting and polishing the edge — and the paint system or brand you used)
- If you have done paintless dent removal, describe how. (e.g. rods and reflector board from behind the panel, glue pulling with tabs and a slide hammer, tapping down the crown, what size and type of dents — door dings, creases, hail — and whether you have worked on aluminium panels). Write 'none' if you have not done PDR.
- Describe your machine polishing and paint correction work. (e.g. rotary or dual-action machine, cutting compound and finishing polish, wool or foam pads, removing swirls, sanding marks or oxidation, wet flatting a run or a nib, checking paint thickness with a gauge, sealant or ceramic coating)
- What wheel, trim or interior cosmetic repairs have you done? (e.g. refurbishing a kerbed alloy — stripping, filling, lathe or diamond cut, painting and lacquering; plastic bumper or trim welding; textured plastic re-graining; leather or vinyl seat repair and re-colouring). Write 'none' if you have not done any.
- What vehicle preparation or fitting work have you done? (e.g. new-car pre-delivery preparation, window tinting, vehicle signage, graphics or wrapping, paint protection film, fitting accessories, towbars, roof bars or leather interior kits)
- Where have you mostly done this work
- Do you hold any vehicle paint, body repair, smart repair or detailing qualification or course certificate, from any country? (e.g. an apprenticeship, IMI / City & Guilds vehicle refinishing, a smart repair or PDR academy or franchise course, manufacturer or paint-brand training such as Toyota, PPG, Standox, Axalta or 3M, SENAI Pintura Automotiva, ITI Painter, TESDA NC II Automotive Body Painting, or your own country's equivalent)
Qualifications that help
None of these is essential, and a qualification from any country counts.
- Smart repair, spot repair or PDR training from any country (academy, franchise or manufacturer course)
- Vehicle refinishing or body repair qualification from any country (apprenticeship, IMI / City & Guilds, SENAI Pintura Automotiva, ITI Painter, TESDA NC II Automotive Body Painting, or national equivalent)
- Paint manufacturer or product training (PPG / Standox / Axalta / Sikkens / 3M)
- Alloy wheel refurbishment or diamond-cut lathe training
- Detailing, paint correction or ceramic coating certification
- Window tinting, paint protection film or vehicle wrapping training
- Full driving licence
We assess English at around CEFR A2 for this role — enough to follow instructions and raise a problem with the person you work for. That is our own standard, not an Irish legal requirement; there is no English test in the permit rules for this job.
The work permit
This role is eligible for an Irish employment permit. This role is capped. Ireland only issues a set number of permits for it each year, and that cap has run out before — so we check what is left before anyone advertises. The job normally has to pass a 28-day Labour Market Needs Test — the employer runs that, advertising the role with JobsIreland/EURES and on a second jobs platform for 28 unbroken days. Either you or the employer can be named as the applicant on the permit itself; on our placements it is the employer. Either way the cost is not yours to carry: under section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 an employer cannot take the permit fee, recruitment costs, or travel money they have already paid you out of your wages, or ask you to pay any of it back. Doing that is a criminal offence.
Salary thresholds and any quota are set per occupation and move during the year, so we confirm the current position for your exact role with DETE before an employer advertises — rather than quote you a figure here that could be out of date by the time you read it.
How long it takes
From an employer offering the job to you starting work, in our experience the realistic timeline is 6 to 8 months if you need an entry visa — the Philippines, for example. From a country that does not need an entry visa, such as Brazil, allow about 4 to 5 months. That covers the 28-day Labour Market Needs Test, DETE permit processing, the visa and travel. DETE processes applications in date order and publishes its current dates; we do not quote a figure that could be out of date by the time you read it.
If you are already living in Ireland on a permit, the position is different — tell us on the form and we will explain where you stand.
Apply
The application takes about ten minutes. You will be asked about your experience, and you can upload a CV and record a short voice clip so we can put you forward properly.