Several hundred delegates are expected to attend the 8th International Construction Management Day Conference where they will hear that the construction industry could see growth of 14% in 2018.
Hosted by the GMIT Dept of Building & Civil Engineering in GMIT Galway on Tuesday, 6 March, experts will deliver talks on a wide range of topics from flooding and the planning & regulatory system, to the digitization of the industry.
They will also discuss housing versus commercial activity imbalance and R & I and lean initiatives, among other topics.
The conference will be chaired by GMIT’s Dr Martin Taggart and attended by members from all of the professional bodies such as The Chartered Institute of Building Members (CIOB), Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI), Chartered Association of Building Engineering(CABE), Construction Industry Federation (CIF), Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI), Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), Engineers Ireland (EI), local authorities, Government and semi-state organisations, along with academics, students and graduates of construction and built environment-related courses.
Dr Martin Taggart, Conference organiser and chair said that they are delighted to see the continued growth of the conference, which began in the depths of the recession in 2011.
“The conference is now the leading annual event in the west of Ireland, for built environment professionals and contractors,” said Dr Taggart.
“The conference will hear predictions of 2018 construction industry growth of 14%, following on from significant growth in 2017 – this is already leading to shortages of key staff at all levels of the industry. At present, we are seeing exceptionally high industry demand for graduates and work placement students from our degree programmes in Construction Management, Quantity Surveying & Construction Economics, Civil Engineering and Architectural Technolog.”
Mary Rogers, Head of the GMIT Department of Building & Civil Engineering, said that the conference is thehighlight of their academic year.
“This annual conference is the highlight of our academic year. At GMIT we work closely with our industry and professional partners to meet the ever-changing needs of the sector,” she said.
“We are very proud of our graduates and staff, some of whom are presenting at the conference this year. In 2017 we were awarded several national education and industry awards for our collaborative development of research-informed programmes and initiatives with our partners in the construction sector. GMIT will continue to meet the demand for implementing innovative processes and technologies to keep pace with a changing construction sector, both in Ireland and globally,” she added.
