Pictured above is Ellie Boyle, Rosses Community College, Dungloe who was presented with first prize in the Construction Industry Federation national video competition. L-R Martin Gibson, Rosses Community College, Laurence McMullin, McMullin Associates Architects, Ellie Boyle and Dermot Gildea (Chairman of CIF Donegal Branch, MBC Building Contractors Ltd)
Transition year students from Donegal, Tipperary and Mayo were announced the winners of the 2023 Construction Industry
Federation’s Constructing Your Future national video competition.
The competition was developed to highlight the exciting opportunities available to young people through a career in the construction sector.
Throughout the last academic year Transition Year, Leaving Cert Applied and Youthreach students were targeted through a nationwide campaign to apply to all areas of the construction industry for their work experience placements and share what they have learned on video to promote the sector among their peers.
Video competition entrants were competing for prizes including a Ticketmaster voucher worth €400.
Ellie Boyle, a Transition Year student at Rosses Community School, Dungloe, Donegal won first place at the competition with her video diary of her work experience at McMullin Associates Architects, Donegal & Dungloe.
Accepting her prize win Ellie said: “Through my entry in this competition I recognised that there is an important role for everyone in constructing this country.”
Cormac Fitzpatrick, CBS Secondary School, Thurles presented with second prize in the Construction Industry Federation national video competition. L-R Séamus Callanan, Clancy Construction, Cormac Fitzpartrick, Trish Flanagan, Construction Industry Federation
Cormac Fitzpatrick, a Transition Year student at CBS Thurles, Tipperary won second place at the competition with a video diary of his work experience at Clancy Construction.
Speaking about his win Cormac said: “I was delighted to have worked on a building site for my TY work experience. This gave me a fantastic opportunity and challenge to experience what life is like in the construction industry.
“What made it even better this year was getting the chance to enter the CIF work experience competition. This competition is a brilliant initiative to raise awareness among second level students about the diverse career paths on a building site.
“I am very grateful to the CIF for being awarded second place in this year’s competition.”
Sean Colgan, St. Colman’s College, Claremorris presented with third prize in the Construction Industry Federation national video competition. L-R Trish Flanagan, Construction Industry Federation and Sean Colgan
Sean Colgan, a Transition Year student at St Colman’s College won third place at the competition with his video diary of work experience with construction company Coffey.
“I am delighted to have done this competition as it helped me narrow down my career choices and gave me a great idea of what working as a team is like inside a company like Coffey – we worked together to create the video,” Sean said.
Dermot Carey, Director of Safety and Training at CIF, congratulated all the winners of the competition and thanked the local business owners who supported their work experience this year.
“Big congratulations to Ellie, Cormac and Sean on their video success. We were thrilled with the high standards the students achieved with their videos. They showed a real interest in the sector and a determination to achieve. No doubt any employer in the future would be lucky to have them.
“I would also like to commend McMullin Associates Architects, for hosting Ellie Boyle, Clancy Construction for hosting Cormac Fitzpatrick and Coffey for hosting Sean Colgan on their work experience.
“Feedback within the construction sector consistently highlights the challenges facing companies and businesses to recruit enough staff in recent years.
“Across Ireland there are second level students looking for work experience every single year. Local builders and construction companies are well placed to nurture local talent, show them what options are available and encourage them into the industry.
“McMullin Associates Architects, Clancy Construction and Coffey must be congratulated for taking the time and making the effort to support young people into the industry.
“Ellie, Cormac and Sean have shown a keen interest to learn but also a strong ability to communicate and share ideas, which are vital parts of so many careers within the construction sector and I have no doubt they have great careers ahead of them,” Dermot added.
The Constructing Your Future competition concludes a year of CIF’s popular Safe Pass training initiative for Transition Year and senior cycle students, with support from SOLAS.
The programme is encouraging young people to consider a career in construction by offering Safe Pass accreditation courses at school, so students can undertake work experience in construction as part of their Transition Year or senior cycle curriculum to learn more about the sector as a positive career option for their future.
