Kirby highlights variety of routes into engineering careers

County Wexford is a third year Engineering student at SETU (South East Technological University), and one of four female students from third level institutions in Ireland who were recently offered bursaries by Kirby.

Ella is currently in Zurich, Switzerland working on a Data Centre project, as part of a nine month placement with the company.

Ella believes that gaining practical experience while still in college is invaluable:

‘Kirby was recommended to me by one of my lecturers at SETU, based on the fact the company offers a really useful mix of office based and practical training,’ she says.

‘Seeing how things work on site and being involved in a project has already taught me a huge amount about engineering.

‘Kirby has also made travelling to Switzerland a seamless experience as they sorted out flights, accommodation and other logistics for me.’

Priority

Group HR director at Kirby, Fergus Barry, says a priority for him at this time of year is demonstrating how varied the pathways into engineering can be:

Kirby back in 1997.

From there the Limerick man went on to be an electrician, a charge hand, site manager, and project manager.

Mikey was appointed operations director last year and is based at the Galway office.

Mikey says taking up an apprenticeship with Kirby straight after finishing his Leaving Cert was one of the best decisions he’s ever made and has afforded him opportunities to work in countries all over the world:

‘Training as an apprentice is a massive learning curve but if you work hard and commit yourself, it’s also a gateway to fantastic experiences’, he says.

‘Kirby invests in people, that’s one of our core values – and the company really invested in me. I’ve always felt very supported throughout my career here.’

Working hard

Kirby is also working with third level institutions to address gender balance in what has traditionally been a male-dominated sector.

Ella Peare from Rosslare

‘Engineers often have to find the right path to a solution on a project and I think that’s reflected in our approach to recruitment,’ he says.

‘We seek out talent from a wide range of sourcesapprenticeships, graduate programmes, those with other qualifications and others from around the world who have the right strengths and skills.

‘At Kirby we put people first. If you believe your future is in engineering, talking to us could be the best first step you’ll ever take in your career.’

The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) has warned the country will face a major shortage of qualified surveyors if the economy enjoys growth of 4% per annum over the next four years. The SCSI says this will put further pressure on the country’s ability to address the housing crisis as well as key infrastructural and commercial developments.

According to the SCSI’s Employment, Remuneration and Workplace Report 2023, which examined the supply of and demand for Irish graduates across the built environment life cycle, in a 4% per annum growth scenario

2,910 new surveyor positions will be created across the profession between 2023 and 2026.

Current levels

However, based on current levels the number of Irish graduates entering the workforce during that four-year period will be just 1,829, a shortfall of 1,081 or 59%.

If the economy grows by 3% the shortfall of surveyors will still be significant at 18%.

The biggest shortfall in the more optimistic growth scenario will be in property, where almost 500 estate agents and property managers will be required.

In this situation the country will also need to treble the number of building surveyor graduates from 77 to over 200 and double the number of land surveyors from 99 to 221.

The survey found that the median salary of a surveyor is €77,200, an increase of 10% on the last survey which was carried out in 2019.

Urgent

The President of the SCSI, Kevin James, said the figures showed the urgent need to ramp up the enrolment of surveyors in our third level colleges and to develop additional pathways to the profession, including through apprenticeships.

‘Solving our housing supply