Building and surveying will soon need new graduates

Irish building and surveying is returning to employment and recruitment, Irish Transition Year students heard this week. It’s forecast that there could be a shortfall of 1,500 surveyors in four years’ time.

Even modest economic growth, of 2%, will create 1,000 posts, according to the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). The fall-off in CAO applications in the last few years has created a shortage of qualified property graduates and this could threaten the pace of recovery in property and construction, say SCSI, which this week launched a report ‘Employment Opportunities and Skills Requirements for Property and Construction Surveying 2014.’

Expecting a 30% lift in activity in the next four years, DIT and SCSI surveyed 400 Irish construction and property firms, 66% of whom were paying graduate salaries of €20,000 to €30,000, while 5% reported salaries of €30,000 to €40,000.