Everyday, the importance of the construction industry within our economy and society becomes more apparent.  The construction industry is employing 1000 additional workers per month since 2013 and is driving Ireland towards full employment. The housing crisis and the increasingly apparent infrastructure deficit will only be resolved by a competitive construction industry.  The industry accounts for about 7% of Irish GDP but how do we get to the level of 10-12% experts agree is sustainable for the Irish economy? How can this level of activity be achieved whilst putting the industry on a sustainable and balanced footing? Due to the changing nature of the Irish economy, the construction industry faces more fundamental change than any time in the past 50 years and it must adopt and adapt leading technologies and processes into its business model. New (digital) technologies – such as building information modelling (BIM), wireless sensing and 3D printing – have begun transforming the way that infrastructure and buildings can be designed and constructed. This digital disruption has the potential to boost efficiency and productivity levels in construction and even re-shape societies and economies alike. Countries such as Ireland will increasingly require digital construction to remain competitive at a global level. But, how can the Irish construction industry capitalise on this opportunity? The Irish industry is still in recovery and despite several initiatives over the last few years, output remains below where it should be. The availability of skills and finance have the potential to undermine the industry’s recovery and future growth path.  The industry will need to absorb an additional 112,000 workers over the next four years to deliver the Government’s ambition of 35,000 housing units per annum and over €45 billion euro in public capital investment up to 2021. Bringing together the key stakeholders from the entire national construction eco-system, the CIF Annual Conference 2017 looks to the future of the industry, exploring these critical issues of how technological advances promise to enhance productivity and boost ROI and innovative ways to prevent skills shortages. Plus of course, we’ll be discussing the more immediate challenge of Brexit, responding to the housing shortage and addressing the infrastructure deficit. Join house-builders, developers, planners, engineers, contractors and senior policy-makers at the CIF’s 2017 flagship 1-day conference as we explore the future of our industry. Topics to be discussed at CIF Conference 2017 include:

• Global mega trends affecting construction
• How Irish construction can shape a positive post-Brexit Ireland
• The future of the construction industry’s labour and business model
• Realising construction’s digital future
• Embracing innovation to solve the construction capacity crisis
• Constructing tomorrow’s buildings and infrastructure
• Ireland in 2040: Building an international construction industry based on strong regional construction