The current state of the construction industry is the focus of the second annual International Construction Management Day Conference hosted by Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology on March 12 .
Leading industry experts and professionals are to attend the day-long event organised by the GMIT Department of Building & Civil Engineering in GMIT. The event is open to the general public and free of charge.
The conference is arranged around three sessions focusing on current issues of concern for the industry.
John O’Regan, director of international consultancy company Davis Langdon, will provide an evaluation of the current state of the industry and its prospects, both in Ireland and abroad, while Don O’Sullivan, director of the Construction Industry Federation, will outline the options for growth.
Steven McGee, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building and managing director of Stewarts Contractors of Galway, Niall Crosson of Ecological Building Systems, and Edward Quigg from Quigg Golden, specialists in the field of construction alternative dispute resolution, will also give presentations.
The event is open to all stakeholders with an interest in the construction industry. GMIT lecturer and conference organiser Martin Taggart says it is a common perception that construction is an industry in decline, but this is simply not the case when one considers the industry worldwide.
“A major construction review ‘Global Construction 2020’ prepared by Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics suggests that worldwide construction output will increase from just over $7.2 trillion today to nearer $12 trillion by 2020, driven along by many of the emerging economies, but also with increased growth in Europe and the USA. This provides worldwide opportunities for construction management and engineering professionals. The projected rate of growth is set to be higher than the world’s general economic growth.
“During the boom construction was far too large for a country of our size, accounting for around 25 per cent of GDP. Now it is too small at around five per cent of GDP. Like-for-like comparison with other developed countries in the EU and elsewhere shows that a figure of around eight to 10 per cent would be a sustainable level. An expansion from to eight per cent for example could potentially put 50,000 people back into work.”
Admission to this conference is free. See the full programme of speakers and events at: http://www.gmit.ie/serving-the-region/conferences/management-conference.html
