Ten jobs for each building engineering graduate

According to the Hays Salary Guide, building engineers are in the top three roles most sought by employers this year.

Photo Credit: Joe McCallion/ Trinity News

Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) has launched a campaign urging secondary level students to consider a career in building engineering.  

The Irish Independent has reported there are 10 Irish building engineering jobs to every graduate.  According to the Hays Salary Guide, building engineers are in the top three roles most sought by employers this year.  

Despite the demand for graduates, DIT reports that numbers are down on the course intake for the last four years.  DIT is the only Level 8-accredited course provider in this discipline in Ireland.  Jim Curley, Group Chief Executive at Jones Engineering Group, spoke recently about the need for skilled graduates, according to the Irish Examiner: “There is a shortage of graduates with the building engineering skills needed by industry. Opportunities abound not just at home but overseas for these graduates.”

DIT’s project to entice students into building engineering is in collaborations with several major industry players including; Jones Engineering, SIRUS, Haughton and Young, Designer Group, Ethos, Varmings, Axis, Dornans, OCSC, Metec, Homan O’Brien, Cundall and Partners alongside the Association of Construction Engineers of Ireland (ACEI).  

Ahead of the February 1 closing date for CAO applications, Ciara Ahern head of building engineering at DIT, spoke of the active push the institute is making to attract students to the career. She describes building engineering as at the “vanguard of a new engineering revolution that is key to meeting global climate change targets”.

A recent report by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), found that 40% of Bachelor degree graduates earn less than €25,000.  In comparison, a typical starting salary is €32,000 for a building engineering graduate. The starting salary for a civil or structural engineer is €27,000.  Overall, ICT, Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction and Health and Welfare Honours Bachelor Degree graduates are the highest earners with 38%, 28% and 28% of such graduates earning €33,000 or over respectively.