News

Construction Jobs continue to Grow

Published On:  Tue, Apr 24th, 2007
Contributed By:  Emma McNamara RTE News

Despite evidence of a slowdown in house sales jobs in the construction sector are still being created, with many of the new positions being filled by qualified migrant workers from Central and Eastern Europe.

Emma McNamara travelled to Poland last weekend and spoke to some architects who've decided to come here to work - Mariusz Przytula and Katarzyna Talaga.
Their skills are needed in Ireland where house building may be slowing, but commercial and infrastructural development speeds up.

Almost 14% of the Irish workforce is employed in construction. In its monthly survey of vacancies FÁS consistently finds that positions for skilled construction workers, like architects and quantity surveyors, are the most difficult to fill.

Since the second half of last year employers in Poland have been finding it difficult to recruit skilled labour in Poland as so many have left. Irish firm CRH employs 4,000 staff there. Its regional director Declan Maguire says recruiting and holding onto skilled staff in Poland is now a problem.

And what will happen to migrant workers here as house building slows? Will they stay here or go back to Poland? The Construction Industry Federation's Peter Stafford says that migrant workers will transfer to the repair and maintenance market, and bigger infrastructural projects.

So it seems it would take much more than a housing slowdown in Ireland to stop architects Mariusz and Katarzyna coming here. And as they prepare for their move do they think they'll ever go back to Poland? They don't know, but less red tape in business, better pay and strong economic growth there could be a deciding factor in the future.

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