BUDGET 2016: Key issues must be looked at

Due to the high costs of employing direct labour and our recent experience in tendering for large-scale PPP contracts we fully supported the CIF submission to the Government for Budget 2016.

There are three areas under the section on sustainable employment which directly impact on our business and businesses like ours.

Firstly, the call for the reinstatement of grant-aided training for construction employers.

There is a drive to change to leaner construction methods and extensive training/upskilling is required to ensure we have a highly qualified and technically capable work force to deliver projects for our clients. Since the removal of grant-aided training, companies like Imtech Suir have had no financial support to offset this cost.

Secondly, the call for the reinstatement of the funding of college fees for apprentices was also backed by Imtech Suir. We have a policy of continually recruiting, training and developing apprentices as this is vital to ensure that the industry has a pipeline of talent for the future.

The final area under jobs and employment was the request to reinstate the redundancy rebate.

The construction industry by its nature is cyclical and while we try and retain our long-term employees this not always possible.

Unfortunately at the end of any construction cycle some of these people have to be made redundant.

This is different to most other industries in that the cycles tend to be short-lived and we are then faced with considerable restructuring costs with no support from government to defray the cost.

These three initiative are critical to companies like ours which directly employees 650 professional and trades staff, mainly in the south-east of the country.

Imtech Suir and other engineering companies want to continue to employ highly skilled construction tradesmen and apprentices but we need government support if we are to do this.

Unfortunately none of the issues which would have a direct and positive impact on our business, particularly training, have been addressed in this budget.

Hopefully the Government will revisit these issues as the recovery gains momentum.

Michael Kennedy is the managing director of Imtech Suir Engineering