Publication
Housing for All - Sectoral Capacity
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
Central to delivering on the ambition of Housing for All is the need for additional construction sector workers. The Report on the Analysis of Skills for Residential Construction & Retrofitting 2023-2030 which was published in December 2022, indicates a need for 50,831 new entrants into the construction sector, from professional, craft, operative and other trade routes. The Report presents three forecasts for the period to 2030 including the skills required to build an average of 33,000 houses annually; the skills required to retrofit 446,300 houses and the skills required for the general repair and maintenance of the housing stock.
This will be achieved through a variety of means, including:
Read the section of Housing for All on Increasing Labour and Sectoral Capacity
The Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 ensures that the apprenticeship system will increase its contribution to meeting Ireland’s skills and human capital requirements by delivering on a target of 10,000 apprenticeship registrations per year by 2025.
There are currently 66 apprenticeship programmes, ranging from levels 5-10 on the National Framework of Qualifications: 25 craft programmes and 41 consortia programmes.
Construction-related programmes include:
More information on construction apprenticeships can be found on the Generation Apprenticeship website .
Education and training relevant to the skills needed in the retrofitting and construction sector is delivered across the full remit of the third level education system and through mainstream education and training as well as through specific programmes such as Springboard , the Human Capital Initiative and Skillnet Ireland .
In the Further Education and Training sector there are some 50+ programmes in areas such as green skills and sustainability. These short courses are targeted at upskilling and increasing knowledge awareness for existing professionals. For more information visit the Further Education and Training Course Hub .
In the Higher Education sector funding is provided under Springboard and the Human Capital Initiative to incentivise the delivery of programmes which support the development of professionals in relevant areas. Those in the sector interested in upskilling can find out more details by visiting the Right Course page on gov.ie .
There will be proactive engagement to attract international labour, where supply is restricted locally.
Under Housing for All and its Housing for All Industry Capability Working Group , the International Recruitment subgroup is chaired by Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science , with representatives from:
The aim of the group is to advance international recruitment of workers to meet labour and skills needs to deliver Housing for All.
The Department of Social Protection is leading the FutureBuilding Initiative to drive national and international recruitment activities in collaboration with EURES. The Initiative is an 18-month pilot, operated through a team staffed by the Department of Social Protection, SOLAS and Education and Training Boards and is financed under the Housing for All Implementation Fund. This initiative is seeking to address construction sector capacity issues by matching vacancies to jobseekers seeking employment and referring to education and training, as required.
Those in the sector interested in upskilling can find out more details by visiting the Right Course page on gov.ie