Northern Ireland News - Construction industry adds 20,000 jobs in eight years

01 June 2005

Construction industry adds 20,000 jobs in eight years

An additional 20,000 jobs have been created by the construction industry in Northern Ireland over the last eight years, a new report has claimed.

According to a report published today by the Northern Ireland Skills Task Force (NSTF), the construction sector is also more important in the Northern Ireland (NI) economy than in any other UK region.

It details the supply of and demand for, various construction skills to the year 2007 and concludes that, in the main, demand and supply are in balance. It also examines other issues, such as workers going to Great Britain (GB) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI), the increase in prefabrication and the trend towards multi-skilling.

Welcoming the report, Bill McGinnis, Chairman of the NSTF, said: “The evidence that the construction industry is on a competitive high will help attract younger people to a sector which is offering excellent pay scales and employment opportunities.”

The Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland would further enhance employment opportunities and the NSTF Report supplies the vital information to drive it forward over the next 10 years, he added.

(MB)