110,000 additional construction workers will be needed over next four years, warns report

Housing delivery 'ultimately dependent on our ability to scale our workforce significantly'

A report by the Ibec trade association representing the property sector has warned that up to 110,000 construction workers will be needed to meet demand for housing and infrastructure targets. Picture: Getty

Up to 110,000 construction workers will be needed to meet demand for the Government's housing and infrastructure targets, a report by the Ibec trade association representing the property sector has warned.

The report by Property Industry Ireland (PII) predicted that around 25,000 additional construction workers annually would be needed until 2030 to meet the Governments goals. The report, entitled 'Construction Industry in Ireland:  The skills and capacity required to build Ireland’s future' said the Irish construction sector currently employs 177,600 construction workers.

"Our 2030 goals - such as the delivery of 300,000 new homes - cannot be achieved solely through reforms in the Government’s housing strategy or new allocations under the National Development Plan. Success is ultimately dependent on our ability to scale our workforce significantly," said PII director David Howard.

The report said that Ireland’s construction workforce must grow by over 50% by 2030 – equivalent to training or attracting over 95,000 additional workers while also replacing 17,000 retirees. "To meet the growth target of an additional 95,000-110,000 roles by 2030, the industry must therefore recruit and train over 20,000 new workers annually," said the report. 

Ireland's construction industry is heavily reliant on an older demographic, the report says. "The proportion of young workers remains below 15%, while 20% of the current workforce is expected to retire within the next 10 years," it said.

The new report also notes that added to this, a skills shortage and challenges in attracting new talent are further challenges to the sector's ability to meet future demand. "One of the greatest impediments caused by how we deliver infrastructure is that Irish talent often finds itself assigned to international projects due to delays or uncertainty at home. Improving timelines, particularly for public sector projects will enhance our ability to keep talent in Ireland," said Mr Howard.

"Our approach must also be underpinned by ensuring diversity and inclusion are at the heart of workforce development, whether through updating critical skills visas to include essential construction work or improving pathways for greater female participation. Key to this will also be ramping up our apprenticeship models and maximising new ways of working through AI adoption and the wider use of modern methods of construction."

PII members include contractors, developers, and builders; property professional service providers including, architects, surveyors, engineers and planners; as well as banks, financial institutions, asset and property managers.