Recovery on the Horizon for Local Construction Industry

After a difficult five years, with the recession biting hard for Northern Ireland construction employers, the future for construction in the Province is finally looking brighter.

Private housing, infrastructure and industrial work are all expected to help push the sector towards growth and around 1,280 new construction workers will be needed yearly over the next five years in Northern Ireland, according to the Construction Skills Network (CSN) report, published recently by ConstructionSkills.

Over the next five years, performance across the NI construction industry is expected to show:

• Overall annual average output growth of 2.3%, with new work expected to fare better than the repair and maintenance sector. However, NI has suffered one of the severest falls in output in recent years, so activity will be rising from a low base.
• The industrial sector is expected to see annual average growth of 4%. The private housing sector is expected to be the second strongest at 3.9% annual average, thanks to stabilising house prices, improving economic conditions, easing of credit restrictions and improving confidence.
• Infrastructure growth will be in the region of 2.7% a year on average, driven in particular by roads projects, such as upgrades to the A2, A5 and A6.
• Construction employment to start rising again from 2014, with an annual average employment growth rate of 1.1% predicted. The annual recruitment requirement of 1,280 will include demand for bricklayers, plasterers, painters & decorators, construction managers and professionals & technical staff.