Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 January 2025
1720. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to outline measures being put in place by his Department to address skills shortages in the construction industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1485/25]
View answerI welcome the opportunity to set out some of the main actions led by my Department to help alleviate constraints that inevitably arise in meeting labour demand in a full employment economy.
A key priority is to equip the current workforce and those entering it with the skills required to deliver national priorities for residential construction and retrofitting, and delivery of infrastructural priorities under the National Development Plan.
My Department works with key sectoral partners such as SOLAS, the National Construction Training Centre (NCTC), Skillnet and Education and Training Boards (ETBs) to increase skills supply across the tertiary system.
Construction apprenticeships are a key tool to help deliver on national targets. The range of construction-related apprenticeships continues to grow, as do registrations on existing programmes. There was a 10% increase in registrations for construction apprenticeships between 2023 and 2024. This underpins the value of this training route at a time of near-full employment and high demand for construction skills. There are now 30 construction or construction-related apprenticeship programmes, approximately 40% of all apprenticeships.
My Department secured a significant investment of €77.4 million into the apprenticeship system in Budget 2025. This is the single largest investment in core apprenticeship funding since the formation of the Department in 2020, an increase of 83% since then.
Greater adoption of modern methods of construction (MMC) is key to increasing innovation and achieving productivity gains in the delivery of housing. MMC is also expected to significantly lessen the demand for workers in the construction sector and promotes diverse career opportunities. My Department is working with partners to ensure that there is provision of training for emerging skills requirements such as MMC.
A July 2024 report by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) identifies projected future MMC skills requirements. My Department is developing a responding action plan which will be finalised this quarter.
There has already been a significant expansion of the education and training pipeline for MMC courses. For example, Skillnet and University of Galway recently launched two innovative programmes - L9 Postgraduate Certificate in Modern MMC and L8 Specialist Diploma in Automation and Control - designed to meet the evolving needs of the construction sector. In addition, the National Construction Training Campus at Mt Lucas has a wide range of MMC training on offer.
Budget 2025 provided €2.7m to help equip the workforce with new innovative construction skills. Through this allocation, SOLAS will fund a range of MMC training pathways while Skillnet will develop the Skillnet MMC Accelerate national platform. The platform will highlight MMC projects and will provide learners and workers with career pathways and new education and upskilling provisions.
A particular focus is on increasing the number of people employed in the construction sector. The Update to the Report on the Analysis of Skills for Residential Construction & Retrofitting was published in October 2024 and estimates that 69,000 new entrants are required by 2030 in order to build an annual average of 50,00 new homes and meet retrofitting targets. This figure increases to 79,000 if MMC are not widely adopted and more traditional building methods continue to be used.
Research undertaken by the Department found a lack of knowledge and understanding about the industry and the roles available, as well as a perception that construction is not suitable for women. In response, the Department is implementing the Careers in Construction Action Plan. The Action Plan’s 20 actions relate to structural, promotional, and training activities to minimise barriers, promote career opportunities, and make construction jobs more attractive to women. Reporting on the Action Plan has been ongoing since Q4 2023.
Supported by the Housing for All Implementation Fund for 2024, my Department delivered a cross-partner effort to promote the sector through several campaign initiatives. These included the Building Heroes peer-to-peer social media campaign (which has reached 3.5m people), a documentary on careers in construction for second-level schools, and the Build Back Home campaign which encouraged Irish workers to return home to take up employment in the construction industry.
My Department was granted €550,000 under the 2025 Housing for All Implementation Fund for further communications initiatives to promote careers in construction.
My Department also works with the Department of Social Protection on the Future Building Initiative. Through the initiative Intreo, SOLAS and the Education and Training Boards of Ireland have formed a dedicated cross-functional team to support recruitment and training across the construction sector. The team collaborate closely to drive progress in recruitment for training courses, apprenticeships and jobs.
The broad range of initiatives outlined above play a very important role in responding to skills requirements to meet national priorities, complimenting the vital role to be played by employers themselves in recruiting, retaining and upskilling their workforce.
