It is hoped that the launch of the first ever scaffolding apprenticeship in Ireland which took place this September will go a long way towards addressing the shortage of labour in the sector. Ger Crowley of Cork Scaffolding (CSC) Ltd, an active member and former chairman of NASAC joined the steering group and together in partnership with LOETB started the process to set the apprenticeship scheme up. He described it as a “major step forward” for the scaffolding and construction industry.
As a director with Cork Scaffolding, Ger Crowley sees at first hand the negative impact that the current shortage of scaffolders is having on the sector on a day-to-day basis. The long-established and highly respected company currently has 38 site operatives on its weekly pay roll and that’s not enough to satisfy the high demand for its services.
“You can only expand if you have the employees to make it happen,” Ger answered when asked about the company’s future expansion plans in conversation with Building Ireland. “If the skilled labour pool is not there you can’t expand too much. You can only take on what you can deal with. There is no point in taking on contracts with the results that customers are on the phone to get more men on site, and you haven’t got them available.
“That’s the situation we are in at the moment, we are turning away jobs every week because we just can’t take them on.”
In an attempt to address this shortfall of workers and meet the ever-evolving needs of the industry, Ger, through his role as then Chairman of The National Association of Scaffolding & Access Contractors (NASAC), played a hands-on role in the setting up of a new scaffolding apprenticeship scheme.
CIF and NASAC in collaboration with Laois and Offaly Education Training Board and the National Construction Training Centre at Mount Lucas launched the new apprenticeship with the first intake of apprentices starting on September 13th last.
Mount Lucas has constructed a 650m2 purpose built scaffolding unit and NASAC was keen to formalise training to match the evolution of industry needs. This includes providing specific knowledge, skills, and competence, which the apprenticeship offers. Health and safety laws including the latest version of the Code of Practice for scaffolding also continues to be a major driver as the trade involves working at height and keeping other trades safe on site.
NASAC approached LOETB to develop the apprenticeship and the proposal was submitted to Solas. Ger was a member of a consortium steering group which was formed with the apprenticeship going into development and finally validated by QQI in October 2020.
The apprenticeship offers a Level 5, two-year programme with apprentices working on the job with their employer coupled with 20 weeks of off-site training in the Mount Lucas training centre.
“It’s an extremely positive development for the industry,” Ger enthused. “We (Cork Scaffolding) have one apprentice scaffolder on the first intake at the moment. LOETB are taking them on in phases and there are nine trainees on the first phase and the second phase has recently commenced. It’s a massive positive for the industry but it’s going to take a few years for the benefit of that to filter through. It’s not going to be an overnight success but it’s a start on the right path.
“We’re fortunate in that we have a highly skilled and dedicated workforce. A lot of our lads have been working for years with the company. Now we have started to bring apprentices through, and we would hope to get some more suitable people on the course as soon as we can.
“It’s a two-year apprenticeship. It’s the first of its kind in Europe, as far as I know with a QQI award. It’s a major step forward for the construction industry in Ireland.”
Cork Scaffolding has been at the forefront of the construction sector in the Cork and Munster region for the past 30 years. Established by Jim, Seamus and Declan Cummins in 1991, Cork Scaffolding has concentrated on building up a profile and gaining a successful business relationship with an array of clients both large and small.
Their premises in Ballygarvan, which is located five miles West of Cork City, gives them a perfect base to carry out contracts near the city where many well-known pharmaceutical facilities are situated.
They work closely with their clients to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction in all areas. Working proactively with you, they will design the best possible solution for your project providing innovative ideas to maximise your budget and to ensure a high-quality end-result.
They trust that together with their experienced management team and scaffolders that they will provide an exceptional service earning them their long-standing reputation for success.
Cork Scaffolding has vast experience in providing high quality scaffolding solutions to a wide variety of projects throughout Ireland. Their prime focus is on safety, and they work closely with a client at the design and planning stage in order to provide a safe and efficient project while adhering to agreed timelines.
All scaffolding designs are carried out by experienced Structural Engineers, are fully insured, and carried out in accordance with the codes of practice. That is why many of their clients return time after time for a dedicated, efficient, and trusted response to some of their complex access solutions.
The scaffold systems that Cork Scaffolding use are Tube and Fitting, Cuplok and Layher All Round while the company’s valued list of clients includes Eli Lilly, John Sisk builders of BioCork 2 at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, GE Energy at Whitegate Power Station and Doyle Shipping Group (DSG), Radley Engineering Ltd, Jones Engineering Group to name but a few.
“We have 10 projects on the go at the moment and business is good,” Ger – who joined the company in 2001 and today is a director of the company alongside Declan Cummins revealed. “We’re extremely busy and, as I’ve already said, there are not enough scaffolders in the country, but everyone is in the same boat.
“At this point in time, our focus is on the pharmaceutical and power station sectors and the future is looking bright. There is a lot of work on the horizon from a building point of view. There seems to be plenty of work there as a long as we can get the men within the industry and start training new blood up.”
Safety is a core value of our organisation, and this is shown in the way we continually operate and deliver on both innovation and quality. We are continually striving for better and more efficient ways of delivering our services to our clients.
Company safety advisor Seamus Cummins ensures that all industry standards and regulations are met and maintained.
The company has achieved numerous awards from their clients for excellence in safety and performance of accident-free construction. At CSC they ensure greater safety and reliability to improve work quality, therefore reducing downtime to schedules.
Cork Scaffolding (CSC) Ltd
Lower Rd.
Ballygarvan,
Co. Cork
Head Office
(021) 4888 546
[email protected]
Declan Cummins
087 815 3366
[email protected]
Ger Crowley
087 258 4003
[email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, March 2022, Vol 8 No 3
