Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

115. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the action his Department is taking to recruit more women to construction, in view that the shortage of construction workers is one of the biggest challenges facing the building industry, with not enough skilled labour to meet the demand for housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40447/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department is undertaking a series of measures to recruit additional construction workers in to the sector to meet the demands for housing. The Report on the Analysis of Skills for Residential Construction and Retrofitting, 2023 to 2030published last year indicates a need for 50, 831 new entrants into the construction sector, from professional, craft, operative and other trades routes.

My Department recently launched the Careers in Construction Action Plan, and the actions within this are aimed at minimising barriers to construction careers, promoting career opportunities and making construction jobs more attractive to women. These actions include delivering staff training on gender bias and providing mentoring programmes for female employees in an effort to recruit more women to the sector.

The FutureBuildinginitiative which was launched in May 2022 has a team staffed by Intreo from the Department of Social Protection, and Education and Training Boards. The initiative sees people from training agencies across the country working with Intreo to identify people for direct placement into employment in the construction sector and for referral to relevant education and training opportunities.

The FutureBuildingInitiative promotes the construction career paths to job seekers, employers, other groups, to include Schools, Chambers of Commerce, Universities and focuses on a variety of cohorts including female school leavers. This work will be ramped up soon with a roadshow promoting construction career paths in girls’ schools. The FutureBuildingInitiative is also working with the Women in Construction group as part of the CIF and the Women in Construction Quarry Ireland to enhance partnerships and co-operation between stakeholders and to attract more women into the industry.

The National Apprenticeship Office have also developed a targeted campaign called ‘Facts, Faces Figures’ aimed at highlighting successful female role-models within apprenticeship which it is hoped will positively influence female students to consider the apprenticeship model as they plan their future work or study. As part of the roll-out of that campaign, we are ensuring that the all girls’ schools in the country get at least one visit from an apprenticeship advisor in this academic year. The NAO has been in contact with principals in all the girls’ schools nationally and are coordinating visits to the schools through the Authorised Officer network. They are being supported in these visits with a number of current active female apprentices in an effort to optimize peer-to-peer influence. However, as I have always said, industry needs to play its part too. It must ensure construction sites are a safe and welcome site for females. I know the sector is willing to do that.