From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
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Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris has welcomed government approval to advance a number of measures to promote careers in construction.
A budget of €750,000 has been allocated to advance the recently published Careers in Construction report.
This includes a peer-to-peer social media campaign to dispel myths surrounding careers in construction and a campaign to advise skilled construction workers abroad of the opportunities in Ireland and the pipeline of work in construction.
Minister Harris is in London today to meet Irish construction workers working on sites across the United Kingdom to discuss the career opportunities in the construction sector in Ireland.
Speaking today, Minister Harris said:
“It is essential we continue to support people entering the sector. This is vital to meeting our Housing for All targets and to ensure we address the most significant challenge our generation is facing.
“There are a number of misconceptions about a career in construction. There are fears construction is a boom and bust career, or that it is for a certain gender, or a certain stage in their career.
“This funding will seek to dispel some of those myths. It is designed to ensure that people considering construction or upskilling from their current role in the sector know the investment the State is making in this overall area over the next decade, and also that we are changing how we deliver housing and large infrastructural projects through Modern Methods of Construction.”
In addition, the department is looking at structural changes so that people are aware of and learning about construction careers including through apprenticeship at an earlier point in their education, working closely with the Department of Education, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and professional representative organisations.
New resources relating to Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) are also being developed through Skillnet Ireland, which will highlight the new opportunities in this growing area.
Minister Harris added:
“We also know Irish construction workers are in high demand. Many left Ireland during the economic crash and have not returned and are now working on sites across the world.
“A part of this funding will be used to engage with construction workers abroad to assess the motivations for moving abroad and establish any barriers to coming home.
“We know many are living in the United Kingdom. Today, I will meet a small number of them to discuss the opportunities that Ireland can offer to people seeking a meaningful career in this area.”
The government’s housing policy, Housing for All, commits some funding each year to advance certain actions included in it.
This funding is provided for non-capital expenditure for a one year period. For 2024, DFHERIS submitted a detailed campaign, based on the Careers in Construction Action Plan, and covering a wide variety of outreach, engagement and promotion. The sum of €750,000 was provided for this.
A peer-to-peer social media campaign will aim to change perceptions of careers in construction among the 15-20 year old age group by engaging a team of young adults currently working or training in construction, who will share their on-the-job stories across social media.
Over two 12-week periods, the young adults will show the reality of what a construction job in today’s modern world is truly like, tackling the myth that a career in the sector is simply manual labour on a building site.
The department will also work with partners and stakeholders to assist a production company as it develops a 30-minute documentary on the reality of modern day careers in construction.
Upon completion, the documentary will be shared with secondary schools across the country.
The production company will also, separately, develop an overarching 30-minute video on MMC, as well as a number of short training videos to assist small and medium-sized construction companies to upskill their teams in this space.