Construction

Opinion: It’s time to end the exploitation of apprentices in Ireland

Apprenticeships are now starting at an older age, and people simply cannot afford to live below minimum wages, Labour Senator Marie Sherlock writes

Last December, the Department of Further and Higher Education and skills estimated that some 50,831 workers will need to be recruited into the construction sector by 2030. Picture: Getty

If the Government is truly serious about ending this housing emergency, they must urgently look at the supply of skills into the construction sector.

Unfortunately, technological advances will only play a small part in speeding up construction productivity most notably with modular construction, improved materials, shapeshifting metals and 3D printing, so the reality is that construction will remain very labour intensive for the foreseeable future.

Last December, the Department of Further and Higher Education and ...