New research from Fieldmotion, a field service management software used by tradespeople across Ireland, has analysed a range of metrics to reveal which Irish counties are best for doing a trade apprenticeship….
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.
These measured new homes commenced (the volume of building work taking place in each county), construction employees (the number of people employed by construction firms), and active construction enterprises (the number of construction businesses registered there, a good indicator of potential employment opportunities for apprentices).
1. Waterford
Waterford tops the list as the best county for doing a trade apprenticeship, with an overall score of 76.91 out of 100. In 2022 Waterford IT merged with Carlow IT to form the Southeast Technological University (SETU), Waterford is home to five of the university’s campuses in some of which offsite learning for trade apprenticeships takes place.
In Waterford, the average rent for a room in a shared house was €614.50 per month for a double room. The county also had the highest rate of new home commencements in the country, at 99.6 per 10,000 people (1,269 in total) for the past 12 months, suggesting a strong level of trade work activity in the area.
2. Mayo
Mayo came in second with an index score of 67.85 out of 100. While the county recorded just 679 new home commencements, around half of Waterford’s total, it was boosted by its 2,392 active construction enterprises and one of the highest rates of construction employment in the country, at 365.9 workers per 10,000 people.
It had the third lowest straight-line distance from county town to a technological university (TU) campus at 0.8 km due to its Atlantic Technological University campus in Castlebar and the average rent price for a room in a shared house was among the 10 lowest in the country.
3. Carlow
Carlow ranks third with an index score of 67.83. As home to SETU’s Carlow campus, it had one of the shortest distances between its county town and a technological university campus. Rent was on the higher side at €655 per month for a double room, but this was offset by one of the highest rates of construction employment in the country, at 397.5 workers per 10,000 people. The Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board region also had the highest number of craft trade employers in the country, at 378, or 22.8 per 10,000 people.
4. Wexford
Wexford ranked fourth with an overall index score of 67.43, placing in the top 10 nationally for new home commencements with 996 over the last 12 months, or 60.8 per 10,000 people. Although it had the sixth-highest average rent for a double room at €698 per month, its close proximity to SETU’s Wexford campus and its strong number of active construction businesses helped secure its place in the top five.
5. Meath
Meath closed out the top five, just behind Wexford, with an index score of 67.09. Rent was among the ten most expensive in the country at €665 per month, and its county town sits 34.2km in a straight line from the nearest TU campus. However, strong construction figures more than made up for this. Meath had the second-highest rate of new home commencements, with 2,008 in the past 12 months (90.9 per 10,000 people), and the third-highest number of active construction enterprises at 3,985 (180.5 per 10,000 people).
Rounding out the top 10
Kerry, Donegal, Tipperary, Galway and Westmeath made up the remainder of the top 10 with index scores of 66.19, 61.78, 58.5, 57.94 and 57.62 respectively.
Each of these counties host a TU campus where on many, phase 4 and 6 off the job training for apprenticeships take place. In 2021 Cork Institute of Technology (IT) and IT Tralee merged to form Munster TU, also that year Limerick IT and Athlone IT merged to form TU Shannon which has multiple campuses in Tipperary and in 2022 Institutions of technology in Galway, Donegal and Mayo merged to create Atlantic TU.
Donegal had second lowest average rent price nationally only higher than Leitrim, and the highest number of active construction enterprises per 10,000 people. Tipperary had the second shortest distance between its county town and a TU campus; it’s index score being pulled down by its relatively low number of new home commencements and active construction enterprises.
Speaking to Wexford Weekly, 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 off 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.”
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