They say a rising tide lifts all boats, so it couldn’t have been long before reports of housing shortages in some areas would prompt speculation about skills shortages to meet the needs of the building industry. Steady on, you might say, but a survey by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland is predicting just that – a shortage of graduates with surveying qualifications in construction will emerge by mid-2013. In the four years prior to this year, the numbers of graduates enrolling in property and construction courses fell off a cliff – they were down by 56 per cent. Now SCSI members are saying they will need property graduates in 2012 because of increased activity in the market and a lift is also expected from a €2.2bn construction stimulus plan in mid to late 2013.
According to SCSI president Roland O’Connell: “While the findings are good news for students who are just starting property and construction courses, this is a real concern right now for employers who need to recruit graduates in the short term.” Who knows, maybe they’ll introduce an incentive programme to entice students into the career – free pinstripe suits and high-vis vests for all successful applicants maybe?
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