Government applies to EU for €40m to retrain builders

THE Government has applied to the European Commission for €40 million in funding for a training programme for 8,800 people who have lost their jobs in the construction industry.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, who submitted the application for the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), said that if it was successful, the money would be used to train, upskill and offer enterprise supports for the workers in order to increase their chances of obtaining employment.

While many thousands more in the industry have lost their jobs since the collapse of the construction sector, the EU fund can only assist workers made redundant over a nine-month period. In this case, it is being applied to those made redundant between July 1, 2009, and March 31, 2010, hence the figure of 8,800.

The range of measures contained in the application is costed at just over €63m, of which 65% financing is being sought from the EU, with the remainder to be provided from national resources.

The final amount of assistance granted to successful EGF applications is decided by the European Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.

This application is split across three specific construction activity sectors – the construction of buildings, specialised construction activities and architectural activities. It is among the largest made to date by any EU member state.

The Government has made three previous applications to the adjustment fund. Those were in respect of Dell, Waterford Crystal and SR Technics. The first two were approved, while the SR Technics application is still under consideration.

“This ambitious application is the result of excellent co-operation between a large number of government departments and state agencies,” Ms Coughlan said. “I very much hope that it will be successful and, if so, it will provide substantial additional funding for active labour market measures in a sector where many are young and unskilled at a time when there are major demands and pressures on the public finances.

“It is important that we do everything in our power to prevent younger people drifting into longer term unemployment and the EGF assistance sought would greatly help in this regard.”