Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 May 2022
124. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures her Department is taking to attract unemployed women or women looking to return to work into the construction sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24224/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraHousing is a key priority for this Government. This is demonstrated by the unprecedented commitment to build 300,000 new homes by 2030 under Housing for All Strategy. The Government also plans to retrofit 500,000 homes - an action which is increasingly important for householders and the economy at a time of rising energy costs.
To achieve this, we need to attract thousands of new workers into the sector. It is estimated that some 27,500 additional workers will be required to meet the housing target. On May 5th, I and my colleague Minister Harris launched the Future Building Initiative to drive recruitment to this sector. Our two Government Departments and related agencies are joining forces to spearhead activation and recruitment for the construction sector and drive internal projects to support this work. The new cross-functional unit which includes staff with expertise in activation, recruitment and training has been established to oversee this initiative.
Critical to the success of that recruitment will be the need to attract new entrants to the labour force, to upskill and reskill those already working in the sector, to attract back some who have left the sector and to attract workers from other countries to contribute to the construction labour force. Women are a target group in all these measures.
While the construction labour force is predominantly male, there is an increasing representation of women choosing construction as a career. As a percentage of the overall workforce in the sector, there has been an increase from 8% to 14% in recent years but more is needed to increase that percentage significantly over the coming years in order to increase female participation rates in the construction sector. This will be a priority focus of the new unit.
A number of initiatives have already been advanced:
- on International Women’s Day my department ran a social media campaign featuring women in construction to promote the sector as a career choice to other women.
- during Intreo Construction Work and Skills week which runs from the 19th May - 26th May, some 40 events across the country will be run in Intreo Centres and ETB Training Centres to promote construction careers; a number of these will be dedicated events for women.
- plans are being developed for a campaign to support 'Returners' to the workforce; this will focus on supporting those who have left the workforce for a period to come back into the workforce. This campaign will include the promotion of careers in construction.
In advancing this work the Future Building team will be working closely with Solas, the Education and Training Boards and the Construction Industry Federation to coordinate and collaborate to building momentum and new opportunities for women in the construction sector.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
