IRISH CONSTRUCTION WORKERS living abroad are to be encouraged to come home and help build homes.
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris is rolling out an outreach campaign to workers in cities such as London, New York and Sydney, telling people working in construction that there are well-paid jobs available in Ireland.
The campaign will use advertising targeted at people working in construction overseas.
“We want to send a message abroad, we want to send a message to the Irish people who may have left because there weren’t jobs in construction in the past, there weren’t jobs when the economy crashed, that Ireland is a very different place now, that Ireland needs you to come home, Ireland needs you to help us build homes,” said Harris.
If you wish to come home, there are jobs here, well-paid, reliable jobs, and huge access to skills and education and training at a level not seen before.
“We need your help. So the purpose of this campaign is to spread the word to Irish people abroad, that if you’re working in construction, there’s huge opportunities here in Ireland and so please consider coming home and helping out,” he added.
A report recently commissioned by his department showed that Ireland will need 50,000 more people to work in construction in the next decade.
To reach those sorts of numbers, the minister said there is a need to come at it from all angles.
He said the government is promoting careers in construction in schools.
A recent report called “Careers in Construction” showed that while guidance counsellors were actively giving information about careers in the construction sector, there was still more of a focus on promoting academia to students.
While the numbers signing up for apprenticeships has increased, there is still a concern at government level at the limited promotion construction industry and trade apprenticeships are receiving at secondary school.
The minister said there were also concerns that parents have conveyed in terms of there being uncertainty with a career in construction.
“We’re getting the facts out there, we saw more people register as apprentices than ever before,” he added.
The minister made the comments ahead of a trip to Washington DC and Boston, where he will meet with educational and political leaders.
Harris is accompanied on the trip by representatives from Ireland’s higher education institutions and science agency.
“We will use this opportunity to embed the strong bonds our two counties share but also how we can expand them to benefit both our economies and societies,” he added.
Speaking about the outreach plan to construction workers, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said today that the number of trade apprentices has grown exponentially in the last two to three years.
He added that Ireland is the only country in Europe that has registered an expansion of construction, stating that the government is looking to expand the construction sector workforce.
Labour Senator Marie Sherlock has hit out against the new announcement by the minister stating that the reality is that many apprentices are forced to leave their training due to financial struggles.
“Let’s not forget that Minister Harris announced last year his intention to seek significant increases in wages for apprenticeships. Yet, where has that promise gone? It’s shocking that the apprentice year one rate is a mere €7.17 an hour, and year two is just €10.75 an hour.
“How can anyone live on such a low rate in today’s economy? This government must prioritise the well-being of our apprentices and ensure that they are compensated fairly for their invaluable contributions to our society,” she said.
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