By Conor Sharkey
TOUGH challenges lie ahead for the North West's construction workers as a downturn in the industry begins to take hold, a leading building company warned this week.
Bridge Construction's Contracts Manager Michael McCauley spoke out after the Construction Employers Federation warned that "hundreds, if not thousands" of jobs are at risk if the slump continues.
Around 84,000 people work in the construction industry in the North of Ireland, generating as much as £3.5bn annually.
But as the property boom of recent years has started wean, so has the need for the tens of thousands labourers, scaffolders, joiners and brickies.
And speaking to the Strabane Chronicle on Tuesday, Mr McCauley said those involved in the construction of private housing can expect things to get a lot tougher before they get better.
"Most of our work takes the form of Housing Executive maintenance so we haven't suffered too badly, but we are aware of several companies who have had to let men go.
"One of the main reasons is that mortgages are a lot harder to get now, so people have stopped buying. So the market is being flooded with properties that no one is purchasing and the demand for new builds just isn't there. It is making life very difficult for the construction industry," Mr McCauley explained.
With the building recession beginning to bite, the Contracts Manager revealed that many construction workers have been forced to travel to Britain in search of work.
"A lot of local people have gone to Edinburgh or London where they are starting to construct the Olympic Village for 2012. Meanwhile, a lot of Eastern European workers who came over have returned home, particularly the Polish community. There own economy has improved in recent years so they have gone back to Poland to work," he explained.
Looking to the long term in the building trade, Mr McCauley said he believed it could be up to two years before things start to turn around.
"Largely what has happened is that over the past four or five years house prices here have been on the rise. But the investors who were snapping up the properties have moved on and what we are seeing now is the knock on effect of that.
"Those suffering most are the smaller contractors who have built a business through maybe getting a contract for four or five new builds and who have taken on five or six men. They are really feeling the pinch and are having to let three or four men go. This is happening collectively and is leaving a lot of people out of work at the same time.
"With regards to when things will pick up again, it's hard to predict. Personally, I can see it taking 12 or 24 months before things start to level off.
"The next six months to a year will be a major challenge because things are looking fairly bleak.
"The only thing people can do is diversify and maybe get involved in something else, maybe a different side of the construction sector," he said.
