Tens of thousands of young men face long-term unemployment if the construction sector goes into a serious downturn, according to the chief executive of the Higher Education Authority.
Tom Boland today warned that those working in the construction industry who lack education are vulnerable in the event of a decline in the sector.
But the Construction Industry Federation accuses Mr Boland of significantly exaggerating the risks, saying that employment in the sector held steady last year at 280,000.
According to the 2006 census over 80,000 young men working in construction have only secondary education, which is often incomplete.
Mr Boland says that many were drawn to construction by short term considerations, and high earnings.
He is urging these young men to return to higher education. But he acknowledges that inadequate supports exist to facilitate such a shift in lifestyle, and is calling for a review of the Government's approach to life-long learning.
SIPTU says the prospect of long term unemployment for tens of thousand of young men is worrying, and wants to see increases in investment in training sooner rather than later.
But IIB economist Austin Hughes said there was a danger that we could exaggerate the risks which undoubtedly existed. He said that volatility was an aspect of construction employment and there would be job losses in the sector. But the economist noted that infrastructure spending would offset to some extent the slowdown in the housing sector.
