Galway quantity surveyor warns of shortage in the industry

THE newly elected President of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI), who is based in Monivea, has said there is an urgent need for more qualified surveyors.

Born in Clongeen in Wexford, Tomás Kelly has been living in Galway for last 26 years. He qualified as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor in 1999 and was made a Fellow of the SCSI and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in 2020.

Kelly has held a number of senior roles in the organisation, including Chair of the Quantity Surveying Professional Group and of the Western Committee.

As the new president of the SCSI, Kelly has said that the country is facing a major shortage of qualified surveyors across the property, construction and land sectors over the next four years.

He said that figures in a recently published report titled ‘Employment Outlook for the Surveying Profession 2026-2029’ showed the need to continue to ramp up the enrolment of surveyors in third-level colleges and to expand additional pathways to the profession, including through apprenticeships.

The report projects a shortage of over 2,200 surveyors under a median growth scenario of 2.5 per cent Gross National Income (GNI) per year. If this growth reaches 3.5 per cent, the shortfall of surveyors would be over 3,000.

"The findings demonstrate persistent and, in some cases, widening shortages notwithstanding many positive awareness initiatives and an overall large increase in educational enrolments on surveying programmes since the first of these reports was published in 2014,” said Tomás Kelly.

“Addressing the shortfall of surveyors identified by the report, as well as additional skills shortages in other professions and trades – must be a priority for government and the industry to ensure the delivery of key infrastructural projects and the National Development Plan."

Kelly believes that in addition to increasing the flow of graduates, the SCSI and the wider industry also need to attract experienced professionals from other sectors with transferable skills, such as technology, legal and finance.

He noted that addressing the wider skills gaps in the industry is one of the 30 actions included in the Government's ‘Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce Report and Action Plan’.

“The strong work of the Taskforce needs to be fully supported by all arms of National and Local Government and continue at pace," said Tomás Kelly.

“As noted in the Taskforce Report, uncertainty around funding and project pipelines undermines confidence and lack of clarity discourages investment in skills and capacity."