Concerns raised over shortage of wet trade apprentices

New data shows that more skilled tradesmen will be needed to tackle the double challenge of retrofitting and construction to ease housing crisis

Since 2013, the number of people employed in construction has grown by 50,000, but apprenticeship numbers have failed to grow in corresponding numbers, with a large fall-off in wet trades, including bricklaying, plastering, painting, decorating and tiling.

Applications for wet trade apprenticeships, such as plastering and bricklaying, declined last year and continue to represent a “very low proportion” of the overall number of construction-related apprenticeships in Ireland, new data has shown.

Since 2013, the number of people employed in construction has grown by 50,000, but apprenticeship numbers have failed to grow in corresponding numbers, with a large fall-off in wet trades, including bricklaying, plastering, painting, decorating and tiling.

Figures released following a ...