Connecting Learning and Working in the Construction Industry
Laois & Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB) have targeted construction as an area of strategic focus, crafting pathways for new entrants while also partnering with industry to cater for immediate needs.
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The National Construction Training Campus at Mount Lucas, Co. Offaly, established in 2007, was envisioned as a hub for construction training nationally, addressing the growing need for skilled workers. However, the 2008 financial crash and subsequent collapse of the building industry stalled its potential for years.
Today, thanks to a revitalised further education and training system and the dedication of LOETB, Mount Lucas is not only fulfilling its original promise but exceeding it.
LOETB has targeted construction as an area of strategic focus, crafting pathways for new entrants while also partnering with industry to cater for Ireland’s critical construction skills needs.
Mount Lucas offers both skills-focused singular modules (‘microcredentials’), allowing for re-skilling and upskilling the traditional construction workforce, and longer pathway programmes attracting new entrants to a modernised green and digital construction sector. Both offer direct progression options to employment and higher education.
This includes the National Scaffolding Apprenticeship, a two-year QQI Level 5 programme, with industry stakeholders, and now partnering 40 SOLAS-approved employers employing 155 apprentices that have engaged in the programme to date.
Mount Lucas has also been designated a centre of excellence for Nearly-Zero Energy Building (NZEB) and retrofitting, training nearly 7,000 learners since 2020. The launch of mobile training units in 2023 and 2024, the latter in partnership with Cairn Homes, has extended its reach to schools, introducing Senior Cycle and Transition Year students to NZEB, retrofitting, and construction career opportunities.
In tandem, LOETB is partnering Technological University Dublin in an MMC Skills Development Pathway that includes micro-credentials, traineeships and an industry-led apprenticeship.
Yvonne Foy, Training Officer for the LOETB, says that education organisations need to do this work in tandem with existing construction businesses to both upskill the current generation of construction professionals and the pipeline of trainees coming through.
One of the issues the construction industry faces is the discrepancy in awareness of MMC across the body of people working on a project. Without a sector skilled ... at the sub-contractor level, we cannot achieve modern pipelines. There is a fundamental need for the workforce to pivot their knowledge as the Irish construction industry modernises.
Training Officer for the LOETB
2025 marks the arrival of the National Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Demonstration Park, the first of its kind in Ireland. This living exhibition of advanced construction techniques and products will promote sustainability, off-site manufacturing, and digital innovation. A suite of MMC programmes will equip learners with critical skills that can contribute to Ireland’s climate action ambitions and ‘Housing For All’ targets. These courses will also prepare the sector for regulatory transitions from NZEB to ZEB and the integration of MMC into mainstream construction.
The partnership between LOETB and Skillnet MMC Accelerate underpins the evolution of supply and demand for the building industry. By connecting more industry professionals with key sources of information and skills development (including LOETB courses), opportunities for a range of personnel to enter a sector traditionally restricted to certain groups becomes more open than ever.
We would like to hear from school leavers interested in partaking in the new opportunities the construction sector can offer; from industry reps who can inform us of the training we should be implementing; and from anyone who's interested in upskilling or reskilling within the construction sector.
Training Officer for the LOETB