Over twenty employers from Ireland and the UK attended a careers fair in GMIT offering numerous positions for graduates in the Built Environment sector. Final years students from the Department of Building & Civil Engineering in GMIT attended the event and spoke to the employers about future employment positions.

GMIT offers Ordinary Degree (Level 7) and Honours Degree (Level 8) programmes in Architectural Technology, Civil Engineering, Construction Management and Quantity Surveying. Lecturer Shane Newell says: “There is currently a very noticeable demand from employers looking for suitably qualified graduates to work in all sectors of the construction industry. Because of the shortage of graduates, the starting salaries and employment conditions for graduates have increased significantly to try to attract skilled professionals.”

“The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index, a benchmarked measure for assessing economic activity, recorded a surging rate of job creation in March. The exceptional growth in the construction sector in recent years has led to an ever-increasing demand for Architects, Architectural Technicians, Civil Engineers, Site Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Project Managers, and all positions throughout the wider construction industry,” explains Mr Newell.

“The ‘Engineering 2019’ report published by Engineers Ireland last month stated that the supply of civil and building engineers must dramatically increase to meet country’s current and future needs. Almost all (94%) engineering employers surveyed however consider a shortage of experienced engineers to be a barrier to growth – and almost half expect this situation to get worse in 2019. Civil and building engineers are most in demand with 59% of organisations surveyed looking to hire engineers in this discipline,” adds Mr Newell.