What we look for
- Cutting stone accurately to size and shape and moving it without breaking it — workshop or banker, it is the foundation of the trade.
- Takes a raw cut edge up to a finish that matches the factory face.
- Produces the openings and joints the finished piece depends on.
- Works from workshop drawings, physical or digital templates and written measurements, sets out on the slab to match vein or grain and minimise waste, checks dimensions before cutting rather than after, and inspects the finished piece for size, squareness and finish before it leaves.
- Knows what they are cutting and changes their approach for it.
- Works safely around heavy and valuable material — water suppression or extraction for silica dust, PPE, safe lifting, a clean and tidy bay — takes obvious care with expensive slabs, and shows dependable, sustained relevant employment.
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 cutting, shaping or finishing stone
- Which of these have you actually done? List ALL that apply — cutting slabs to size, edge profiling and polishing, sink and tap cut-outs, mitring and laminating, worktops and vanity units, fireplaces, wall cladding or panels, flooring, stone walling or building, restoration or conservation, monumental or memorial work, letter cutting, installing finished stone on site, tiling
- Which stones have you worked with, and how do they differ to work? (e.g. marble, granite, quartzite, engineered quartz, onyx, limestone, sandstone, travertine, porcelain slab, terrazzo — say which chip or crack easily, which need sealing, which are hardest on a blade)
- What tools and machines have you used to cut, drill and grind stone? (e.g. bridge saw, monorail or manual saw, angle grinder with diamond blade, core drill, router, edge polishing machine, hand polishing pads and grit sequence — include makes if you know them)
- What edge details and finishes have you produced? (e.g. flat polished, pencil round, bullnose, honed, chamfered, mitred, ogee, laminated build-up — and how you take a cut edge up through the polishing grits to match the factory face)
- Describe a sink cut-out and a mitred joint you have done, start to finish. (e.g. marking from the template, drilling the corners, cutting and easing the radius, polishing the aperture, tap holes, drainer grooves, mitring and glueing the joint, colour-matching resin or adhesive, flatting the joint back level)
- How do you work from drawings and templates? (e.g. reading a workshop drawing, working from a physical or digital template, setting out on the slab to match the vein or grain and avoid waste, checking dimensions before cutting, final inspection for size and finish)
- Have you operated a CNC, bridge saw or waterjet machine on stone? If yes, say which machine, whether you loaded programmes or only operated, and what you produced. Write 'none' if not.
- Have you installed finished stone on site? If yes, describe it (e.g. templating on site, lifting and setting worktops, levelling and supporting, on-site joints, silicone and sealing, fireplaces, cladding, fixings). Write 'none' if not.
Qualifications that help
None of these is essential, and a qualification from any country counts.
- Stonemasonry or stone fabrication qualification from any country (apprenticeship, QQI / SOLAS, City & Guilds / NVQ, TESDA NC II Masonry, ITI Mason or Marble Mason, SENAI Cantaria / Marmoraria, or national equivalent)
- CNC, bridge saw or waterjet stone machine training
- Abrasive wheels or safe use of grinders and cutting equipment
- Manual handling / safe slab handling or overhead crane and vacuum lifter training
- Silica dust awareness or respiratory protection 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. 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.