Construction Occupations:
53% = in specialised construction activities (e.g. bricklaying, scaffolding, construction equipment).
36% = in buildings construction
11% = in civil engineering.
Outlook: Employment in all areas has grown strongly in recent years, slowing in 2018. Significant increase in employment numbers by 2030 not expected, but nature of tasks will change due to new & green technologies & the shift away from physical labour.
Apprenticeships:
Bricklayers & plasterers – strong 5 year increase in registrations. Employment levels remained relatively unchanged between 2018 and 2019 & uptake of permits was tiny.
Plumbers – registrations almost doubled in 5 years. Although Upskilling & Reskilling will be required it is not expected to impact on future employment numbers.
Carpenters & Joiners – registrations more than tripled in 5 years. Full recovery in employment numbers expected when full economic recovery resumes. Small shortage of shuttering carpenters – 100 permits issued in 2019.
Painters & decorators – registration numbers remain small. Employment levels remained relatively unchanged between 2018 and 2019.
The new Apprenticeship Action Plan 2021-2025 was launched by the Government recently. It aims to bring all apprenticeships together in one place – the National Apprenticeship office – and wants to grow the number of apprenticeships to 10,000 per year by 2025. Click here for more information on Apprenticeships.
Want to find out more on Apprenticeships and how to boost their visibility to your students? Click here.
Look out for the Part Two of this Skills Digest which focusses on Construction Jobs and the Skills Gap in the sector in more detail.
Further Reading:
British group Arora plans to spend €100 million building a 410-bedroom hotel at Dublin. Airport Around 300 workers will be needed to build the property. To read the full Irish Times article, click here.
To read Solas’ National Skills Bulletin 2021 in full click here.