Ireland’s construction industry has a major skills shortage – and the country has a significant housing shortage.
The Irish World Heritage Centre in Cheetham Hill in Manchester will this week host a jobs fair for Irish companies to recruit skilled construction workers.
The Irish government, under its so-called Housing for All Future Building Initiative, says it will tackle the country’ acute housing shortage by building 33,000 new homes every year between now and 2030.
To meet this goal it needs to increase the supply of skilled workers in the industry from the pre-pandemic level of 40,000 full-time equivalent workers by just under 30,000 additional workers (27,500) over the next five years.
It hopes the sector can recruit at least an additional 7,500 workers every year between now and its deadline.
Ireland’s Department for Social Protection, and the country’s Department for Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation & Science have been tasked to work together to meet the jobs shortage.
The two departments have assigned civil servants to a specially formed unit to come up with recruitment and training.
