Low rent lands Donegal in top 10 in the nation for apprenticeships
Donegal has made its way into the country's top 10 best places to do a trade apprenticeship
Low rent prices in Donegal move the county into one of the top 10 in the nation for doing a Trade apprenticeship.
Research from Fieldmotion found that Donegal had the second-lowest average rent price nationally, only higher than Leitrim, and the highest number of active construction enterprises per 10,000 people.
Waterford, Mayo, Carlow, Wexford, and Meath made it into the top five on the list; meanwhile, Donegal, Kerry, Tipperary, Galway and Westmeath made up the remainder of the top 10.
The research comes as the country is facing a labour shortage in the construction industry with roughly 54,000 fewer employees than at its 2007 peak. While the construction sector currently employs over 177,600 people, to meet the housing and infrastructure goals set by the government, 100,000 additional roles are required by 2030, roughly 25,000 per year.
Fieldmotion built a Trade Apprenticeship Index using five metrics. The average rent for a double room in a house, the distance to the nearest technological university campus, and three CSO datasets.
Jerome Finnegan, Managing Director at Fieldmotion, said: “While this obviously shows where in Ireland is the best or most suitable to do a trade apprenticeship, I think it adds to a broader conversation about how important it is to make entry into the construction industry more streamlined and accessible, and how this is an essential part of easing the labour shortage the county is facing as we move into an era of massive investment in public infrastructure and projects.
What we hear from businesses is that demand for skilled people is still very strong while experienced tradespeople are getting harder and harder to recruit, which makes bringing new talent through more urgent.”
For more information, visit FieldMotion's website.