Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 September 2021
178. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he expects staff shortages in the construction sector to be met with particular reference to the need to address such deficiencies in full at an early date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44170/21]
View answerThe Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) is the independent, non-statutory body that advises the Government on projected skills requirements across the Irish economy and makes recommendations on how existing education and training systems and delivery mechanisms, as well as other sources of skills supply, can be improved.
My Department provides research and secretarial support to the Group, and as part of the national skills architecture, the EGFSN's analysis helps inform the work of the National Skills Council, which advises on the prioritisation of identified skills needs and the allocation of resources across the education and training system to address these needs.
As part of its 2020 and 2021 work programme, the EGFSN has engaged in a series of studies examining the nature and quantity of skills needs across the wider Built Environment sector over the medium to long term, in line with the Government's ambitions across housing, infrastructural development and built environment energy efficiency.
These include the 2020 report, Building Future Skills- The Demand for Skills in Ireland's Built Environment Sector to 2030; the forthcoming paper Labour Demand Estimates for Ireland's National Housing Targets, 2021-2030, the EGFSN's contribution to the development of Housing for All; and the forthcoming report on Skills for the Zero Carbon Economy, which amongst other areas examines the skills needs arising from the Government's residential retrofit targets and the construction skills needs resulting from Renewable Energy projects.
Through the EGFSN Secretariat's close engagement with relevant stakeholders, this analysis, which includes detailed breakdown and forecasts of skills needs at occupational level, as well as recommendations aimed at enhancing skills supply across the Built Environment sector, is informing skills planning across Government, industry and the education and training system, to ensure that the Government's ambitions in the construction space are delivered upon.
This includes informing the broader campaign aimed at promoting construction career opportunities, which is being undertaken by the Construction Sector Group, representative of the sector's key public and private stakeholders; the alignment of education and training programmes and graduate output by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, its agencies, and Higher Education and Further Education and Training providers; the transitioning, where feasible, of the unemployed into Construction sector roles under the new Pathways to Work, 2021-2025 strategy; and the continued responsiveness of the Employment Permit system to identified skills needs across the Construction sector.
