Critical lack of expertise is holding back construction, ministers warned

National Skills Roundtable will provide 'direct insight from employers'

Further and higher education minister James Lawless: 'We now have 87 apprenticeship programmes available across the country, opening up more opportunities than ever before.' File picture: PA

Builders and State agencies are being held back from development by a “critical lack” of expertise in key areas, ministers have been warned.

More than 94% of construction companies, representative bodies, and State agencies attending a construction roundtable today have expressed concerns that workforce shortages in specific skill areas are impacting performance.

At a construction roundtable focusing on national skills in University College Dublin (UCD), hosted by the higher education and research minister James Lawless, industry officials will say there are also widespread shortages of engineers, tradespeople working in plastering, bricklaying, surveyors, and planners.

There is also a “critical lack” of mid-career professionals with five to 10 years’ experience.

Construction and infrastructure leaders will call for continued scaling up and modernisation of apprenticeships and investment in skills, as well as increased efforts for stronger promotion of construction careers to meet growing workforce demands.

Rapid technological change is changing the skills required by industry, and there is now a growing demand for artificial intelligence, digital engineering, building information modelling, and systems integration skills.

Ahead of the National Skills Roundtable, Mr Lawless said the event will provide “direct insight from employers” on what pressures they are facing and how Government can respond. He said: 

Strong and sustained engagement with industry is essential to ensuring our skills system is delivering for a rapidly evolving construction sector.

“The Government is making record investments in the skills economy. In Budget 2026, I allocated €79m for apprenticeship delivery, bringing total investment to €415m, more than double the level in 2020. 

"We now have 87 apprenticeship programmes available across the country, opening up more opportunities than ever before to build careers in construction and beyond."

He said the focus is on turning the investment into 'real capacity' on the ground, increasing apprenticeship registrations, expanding training provision, and ensuring programmes are aligned with the needs of modern construction, including digital and emerging technologies.

“There is strong alignment across industry, education providers and Government, and we will continue to work in partnership to ensure we have the skilled workforce needed to meet Ireland’s housing and infrastructure ambitions.”

• Louise Burne, Political Correspondent