Construction and aviation are two sectors that need thousands more workers, better skills plans and more support, say professional bodies.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Ireland is woefully behind on its climate targets. But, realistically what we end up doing depends on whether we have the workers with the requisite skills.
Recently, groups representing the wind industry created a web platform to encourage people into careers in wind, while the energy storage sector has also recognised the urgent need for more talent. Green-tech skills gaps are across the board; last year, ESRI and Skillnet Ireland research highlighted the importance of digital skills for businesses to assist them during the green transition.
Many businesses said skills shortages were the main obstacle preventing them from operating more sustainably. An IDA Ireland report from December 2022 found that while Ireland’s share of people with green skills was increasing, the country will need to fill more than 20,000 jobs by 2030 just to support green economy sectors.
Further education providers such as Skillnet Ireland, FET and Solas have been stepping up to make sure green skills programmes are being offered to learners, but more effort is always going to be needed – particularly from businesses and policy-makers.
In June of this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a damning report which claimed that almost all sectors – including aviation and construction – are on a trajectory to exceed their national sectoral emissions ceilings for 2025 and 2030. It also projected that Ireland will achieve a reduction of only 29pc in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to a target of 51pc.
The EPA’s director general, Laura Burke, warned “Ireland will miss its 2030 climate targets unless all sectors of the economy deliver emission reductions in the short term and sustain this delivery into the future.” The EPA’s prophecy of doom was followed by a similar one from the Irish Climate Change Advisory Council in July.
Building on progress
Despite climate interest groups’ pessimism – which is entirely warranted – there are efforts being made by industry players to operate more sustainably. Unfortunately, these efforts may be too little too late – especially if we don’t have the workers to implement them.
The wind sector has been fairly on the ball about the need to reskill and upskill workers but other industries such as the construction sector are following suit. Recent research led by Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) found the construction industry will require at least 120,000 additional skilled workers and the reskilling of 164,000 workers by 2030 to deliver on Ireland’s housing and climate targets.
The research also found that despite a tenfold rise in construction and engineering courses over the last two years, enrolment in these courses remains relatively low and the number of students enrolling in some apprenticeships has decreased.
“Our sector is experiencing significant labour and skill challenges despite increases in construction courses in recent years,” said Dermot Carey, director of safety and training at the Construction Industry Federation (CIF).
“Addressing this challenge will require more diversity in the industry, and a cultural shift so that more people see apprenticeships and traineeships as a viable and rewarding option. The construction sector has a vast array of opportunities to offer but we need more young people to consider it as a career choice to ensure the industry can continue to evolve and thrive to secure a future pipeline of talent.”
Fortunately, the report and Carey’s comments are coming on the back of an initiative that aims to create a national upskilling roadmap for the built environment to 2030 and beyond. The first draft of this is due imminently and it is being worked on by TUS, CIF and the Irish Green Building Council. The latter group has been trying to reform the built environment sector here for years.
E-fuel efforts need talent to take off
The aviation industry is also slowly working towards becoming more sustainable. Last month, several aviation sector groups including Boeing, Avolon and Orix Aviation, released a study which claimed that the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry could provide up to 1,000 highly-skilled jobs and generate billions of euros in revenue.
Eventually, SAF could replace traditional jet fuel and the EU is already obligating fuel suppliers to blend SAF into the fuel available at all EU airports, rising from 6pc SAF by 2030, to 70pc by 2050. To meet these EU-mandated SAF volumes, Ireland will require at least 10 SAF plants. According to the study, the biggest opportunity for us lies in the power-to-liquid production of e-SAF, a synthetic fuel produced by combining green hydrogen with biogenic CO2. SAF is derived from bio-based intermediates like renewable natural gas.
That’s all well in theory, but we need policies in place to ensure we will have the people to staff these SAF plants. The report’s authors recommended things like more communication and collaboration between third-level institutions and industry as well as tax incentives, greater investment in hydrogen and overhauling planning processes.
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