The greatest single risk to jobs and the survival of local businesses is the slow pace of government’s return to business and the procurement of much needed construction work, according to a Construction Employers Federation (CEF) survey.
The survey of local construction companies conducted in July represents the views of around 200 businesses with combined turnover exceeding £1.5bn.
The CEF, whose members account for roughly 70% of the construction output in NI, represents a sector sustaining around 65,000 skilled local jobs and, with the impending cessation of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, without a clear pipeline of work, exactly half of the businesses surveyed anticipate making significant redundancies.
CEF’s incoming Managing Director, Mark Spence commented, “If this Assembly finds itself at the end of the financial year having underspent its allocated budgets and handing back money to Westminster, it must be held accountable to those whose jobs have been lost unnecessarily.”
“The CEF calls on our elected representatives to work together to agree a way forward so that Northern Ireland can support a thriving construction industry and avail of every opportunity for sustainable economic growth.” concluded Mark.
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