The Department of Further and Higher and Education is encouraging school leavers to consider apprenticeships over college.
Over 80,000 new people are needed in the construction sector by 2030 to help Ireland meet climate and construction targets.
Social media campaign, 'Building Heroes' was established by the Department to encourage young people to consider it.
The campaign also aims to shatter myths and perceptions about working in construction.
On TikTok and Instagram, tradespeople, apprentices, engineers, quantity surveyors and planners post about their daily lives to show what it's actually like working in the industry.
There was a 10% increase in construction apprenticeship registrations in 2024.
First choice preferences in CAO applications for courses in architecture, construction and engineering rose by 22% this year.
Shauna from Carlow used to be a beautician and made the switch to become a tarmac layer.
She says "apprenticeships are not like the second option, they are just as good to do straight out of school. It doesn't have to be because you did bad in school."
