With Leaving Cert results coming out in just a few days, Chadwicks (Ireland's leading builders’ merchants) surveyed a group of young adults in Ireland to see if a role in the construction industry would appeal to them.
For the study, 250 parents of young adults were surveyed, as well as 200 people aged between 16-24, examining their attitudes towards pursuing a career in construction.
The results reveals that 70% of people aged 16-24 years have considered a role in the industry, with most parents of young adults (85%) seeing the benefits of a career in construction for their children. In fact, over two thirds (67%) said they would be happy if their child pursued a career in the sector.
Despite this, 73% have not actively encouraged their child to do so. The two main reasons why are evenly split between the lack of opportunities for career progression (50%) and the perception that the industry is male-dominated (50%).
Of the 25% of parents polled who have a child that has pursued a career path in construction, 85% of those said they were happy with the career they chose.
Young adults polled share similar concerns to parents about a construction industry career path, and in addition, they believe that it can be a very lonely career (27%), as well as, like parents, perceive that it’s a male-dominated industry (26%) and there is a lack of career progression (21%).
The aspects that have appealed to them most is doing a job that is very practical (57%), being able to express their creative side (36%) and the flexibility that it offers (32%).
In addition to the parents and young adults polled, 150 tradespeople were also surveyed for the study, and the findings reveal the many advantages they have experienced with the career path they have chosen.
When tradespeople polled were asked what the best things about their job were, their response would suggest that their career is far from a lonely one! The ability to work anywhere in the world (41%), the fun they have socialising with others, and creativity they experience 'on the job’ (37%) and the excellent pay (35%) were their favourite aspects of the role.
Interestingly, the most common reasons that tradespeople reported pursuing their careers seems to directly dispel some parents and young adults’ concerns.
Chances to make very good money (43%) and opportunities for career progression (40%) were the top two reasons that tradespeople pursued the career they did.
Regarding the misconceptions that tradespeople believed others have about their work, the pay being generally low (42%), the perception that there are hardly any females (41%) and the job being too physical (40%) are most common.
At a time of year when many young adults are perhaps thinking about their future careers most, Chadwicks partnered with architect and broadcaster Hugh Wallace to raise awareness of the benefits of working in the trades.
"I am delighted to support Chadwicks in promoting job opportunities in the construction industry to young adults," he said, "many of which await their Leaving Cert results this week and have big career decisions to make!"
"I work with tradespeople in my line of work each day and see first-hand what those researched say are the best parts of the job, as I experience them too – from the fun we have together on-site, the creativity to the flexibility – the benefits are in abundance.
"With such a high demand for construction projects here in Ireland and a varied range of job opportunities (including non-physical off-site roles such as manufacturing, planning and design in addition to on-site jobs), the construction industry provides the perfect foundation to a fulfilling career full of progression opportunities."
