High-profile meeting at Stormont in December will bring together politicians and business leaders.
Northern Ireland politicians and business leaders are being invited to an APS-hosted meeting in Stormont this December to learn how the construction industry can offer well-paid jobs and careers to young people in the province.
The Stormont meeting, which is to take place on 2 December 2025, will be hosted by senior member of the legislative assembly (MLA) Phillip Brett, who chairs the influential Economy Committee, and will focus on skills and quality jobs in the construction industry.
As well as stressing construction’s career opportunities, APS is using the meeting to raise its profile and develop its membership base in Northern Ireland. The event builds on a series of key MLA meetings APS president Mark Snelling had in Belfast in May.
Devin Scobie, corporate affairs adviser to APS, has been instrumental in arranging the Stormont event and the initial round of MLA meetings. He says: “Northern Ireland is an important region to APS and, especially in our 30th anniversary year, we believe we can develop our activities and influence in the province.
“We’ve organised similar events at the Scottish parliament last November
and the Welsh parliament in January this year. They were both very successful in explaining the importance of the construction industry and what APS does, as well as raising awareness with elected members and APS’s own members.
“Our president, Mark Snelling, is very committed to helping members in Northern Ireland and was a great ambassador for APS in May. December will be an ideal opportunity to continue that engagement.”
Well-paid jobs
Commenting on the upcoming meeting in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Snelling says: “We are looking at how we can get younger people into the industry, and one way we can do this is to highlight how many well-paid jobs there are in construction. According to the latest salary trends report, the construction industry is second only to the technology sector for the best-paying jobs.
“We are therefore looking to connect with NI politicians and business leaders to try to find a way that we can encourage youngsters through both a better understanding of the industry and educational opportunities to consider the construction industry
as a future career.”
Snelling adds: “The industry offers something for both those who want to work outside or out of an office and for those who like to work in an office or at home. Construction and engineering skills are valued across the world – making opportunities for those who would like to work in other countries.
“Equally importantly, our industry is one of the best placed to improve the environment, as we are the ones building wind turbines and other renewable power sources as well as energy-efficient homes, offices and factories. For young people concerned about climate change, getting involved with construction will enable them to make a real difference.”
Construction activity in Belfast
Reflecting on the MLA meetings in May, Devin Scobie says: “We chose to focus heavily on skills and the quality of jobs in the construction industry, and talked about the large amount of construction activity in Belfast currently, some of which still qualifies for EU funding. This is what we’ll be focusing on again when we have our Stormont meeting, and explaining how APS can act as a catalyst in helping fill these positions.”
The high-profile event in Northern Ireland comes after APS has been ramping up its UK-wide campaign to promote mental health and wellbeing within the construction industry, by taking its campaign to Westminster and the devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales.
The association has been vigorously campaigning across both its 4,000-strong UK membership and the wider built environment for greater awareness and understanding on the range of issues impacting an industry where there are an estimated 16,000 construction workers in Britain suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety.
