A shortage of engineers threatens to leave the Republic struggling to build homes and critical infrastructure, new research shows.
The State plans to spend about €270 billion building homes, energy, water, transport and other infrastructure over the next decade.
But research by KHSK Economic Consultants shows that at current recruitment rates, the Republic will face a shortage of up to 6,000 engineers and technicians needed to turn those plans into projects.
That will threaten the construction of urgently needed housing, transport and energy projects, warns professional body Engineers Ireland, which commissioned the research.
READ MORE
Damien Owens, director general of Engineers Ireland, cautioned that the State’s “ambitious plans” depend on having enough engineers and engineering technicians to turn them into reality.
“We are already seeing a significant demand for engineering skills, and the research shows that this gap could widen substantially over the coming years,” he said.
This is at a time when the Government hopes builders will complete record numbers of new homes, while working on planned infrastructure such as MetroLink, the Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme and the Shannon water supply project, he added.
“If we do not act now to increase the supply of engineering talent, we risk constraining the delivery of housing and major infrastructure at precisely the time when Ireland needs to accelerate it,” Owens warned.
Shortages are already emerging, according to Engineers Ireland.
More than three-quarters of those who took part in the study said their organisation intended to hire engineers this year, while just 2 per cent were seeking work themselves.
Outside construction, the profession is essential to key industries that employ hundreds of thousands of workers, including pharmaceuticals, microchips, software and medical devices, he noted.
“Investment in engineering skills is central to Ireland’s ability to deliver infrastructure, sustain economic growth and remain competitive,” Owens argued.
Engineers Ireland is calling for a national campaign to promote the profession’s third-level courses and highlighting opportunities in the field, particularly for women, in a pre-budget submission.
The organisation also seeks an expansion of places on accredited third-level engineering courses, more apprenticeship place and the inclusion of integrated engineering master’s degrees in the free fees initiative, under which the Government pays undergraduates’ fees.
There were 98,000 engineers and engineering technicians working in Ireland as a whole by the end of last year, KHSK Economic Consultants’ report, The Value of Engineers to the Irish Economy, shows.
About 72,000 worked in the Republic while slightly more than 25,000 worked in Northern Ireland.
The profession could contribute almost €9.5 billion to the economy this year, according to the report, which calculates their worth to the Republic at €7 billion and their value to the North at €2.4 billion.
Taking their contribution to company profits and the estimated €2.25 billion they pay in payroll taxes, the total rises to €12.65 billion, the economists calculate.
However, the report also found a gender pay gap in the profession.
The median salary among male respondents to the survey was €79,000 a year, while female engineers reported that it was €61,000 annually.
Differences in age and experience explain only part of this difference, Engineers Ireland acknowledges. The organisation also notes that women are underrepresented in management and director-level posts.
KHSK Economic Consultants drew on census and labour market data from the Republic and Northern Ireland, international statistics and surveyed 2,045 Engineers Ireland members.
The organisation is one of the country’s biggest professional bodies with more than 30,000 members.
