New research from IrishJobs shows that workers in the construction industry were among the most in-demand professions in 2024
Key statistics from the research:
Site Managers were the most sought-after construction professionals in 2024, with demand increasing by 39% year-on-year.
The five most in-demand roles were dominated by the construction sector, including site engineers and project managers. Demand for Site Engineers increased by 15% Y-o-Y and 10% Y-o-Y for Project Managers.
Outside construction, accountants ranked as the second most sought-after profession.
The data comes from the IrishJobs TalentBank, which includes a CV database of over 1.4 million job candidates.
Other top ten in-demand professions included:
Quantity surveyors
Engineers
Nurses
Electricians
Quantity Surveyors (6th), Engineers (7th), and Senior Site Engineers (10th) all feature in the top ten most in-demand professions. Electricians (9th) appear in the top 10 list for the first time, indicating the importance of the interrelated skilled trades sector in supporting construction activity.
Sector-specific demand:
In IT, the most in-demand role was automation engineer.
In science, the top role was data scientist.
In banking, the most sought-after role was risk manager.
The tight labour market is driven by near-record low levels of unemployment and a growing skills shortage in construction and related fields.
The increase in demand for construction professionals aligns with efforts to meet Ireland’s ambitious housing targets.
