More than 100,000 builders needed to deliver €116bn plan
MORE than 100,000 more construction workers will be needed in the coming years to deliver on the Government’s €116bn infrastructure plan.
Industry experts have warned that targets for massively ramping up home construction along with plans for new roads, hospitals, schools and a metro will require changes to the way apprenticeships are run.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has already admitted that the country will need to import substantial numbers of tradespeople to fill vacancies in the sector.
There are now 50,000 more people working in the construction industry when compared with 2013, and the number is rising by up to 900 a month.
Concern is growing though that it will be at least four years before young people choosing construction-related course at third level will make their way into the system.
The numbers these courses have been increasing strongly by over 10pc a year but starting from an exceptionally low base.
A report by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), Solas and EY/DKM last year forecast a need for an additional 112,000 workers by 2020.
However, that was based on a target of 25,000 new houses a year and a capital programme of between €40bn to €50bn.
The Government now wants up to 35,000 houses annually and will spent €116bn on big infrastructure projects over the next decade.
Director of communications for the CIF Shane Dempsey said the ambition in Government and the economy’s requirement for construction activity has “increased dramatically in the last year alone”.
“It should see an increase in activity across the industry including the housebuilding sector and in the regions, which remain in the doldrums from a construction perspective.
“However, this acute increase in demand for activity really necessitates a concomitant investment in the education and training system,” he said.
The CIF believes the Government must ensure the education system generates enough skilled workers in order to prevent “chronic skills shortages” and “the inevitable increase in labour costs”.
In particular it wants a revaluation of the apprenticeship system to ensure it is “fit for purpose”.
At the height of the boom, there were more than 20,000 apprenticeships, this dropped to around 2,000 in 2013.
A problem now being highlighted is that construction companies are wary of taking on apprentices because they are absent for a large part of the year due to the college element of their training.
The CIF has piloted a shared apprenticeship scheme in the south-eastern region, where four participating companies can rotate apprentices when demand rises or falls to ensure they have an unbroken apprenticeship.
“This pilot should be rolled out across the country to kickstart the apprenticeship system again,” Mr Dempsey said.
At the launch of ‘Project Ireland 2040’, Mr Varadar admitted the shortage of construction workers is a “potential constraint”, but he pointed toward migration as one solution.