Í byggingarstarfsemi á Íslandi starfa um 15.000–17.000 manns, eða um 8% vinnuaflsins, og erlendir ríkisborgarar eru áætlaðir 40–50% starfsmanna — aðallega frá Póllandi, Litháen og Portúgal. Samtök iðnaðarins hafa ítrekað bent á skort á sérhæfðu vinnuafli þar sem innlend starfsmenntun útskrifar aðeins 200–300 sveinspróf á ári á móti þörf upp á 500 eða fleiri.
Enska frumtextinn
The Icelandic construction sector employs approximately 15,000–17,000 workers, representing roughly 8% of the total workforce. Foreign nationals account for an estimated 40–50% of construction workers, predominantly from Poland, Lithuania, and Portugal. The sector faces chronic skills shortages in specialised trades such as electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians. The Icelandic construction industry association (Samtök iðnaðarins) has repeatedly highlighted that domestic vocational training produces far fewer skilled tradespeople than the industry requires — approximately 200–300 certified journeymen per year against an estimated need of 500+. The sector's dependence on EEA migrant labour is already substantial under the current EEA framework.
Heimild
Hagstofa Íslands — Labour Force Survey by sector; Samtök iðnaðarins — Industry reports
Hagstofa Íslands framkvæmir vinnuaflskannanir og Samtök iðnaðarins eru heildarsamtök sem gefa út greiningar um stöðu byggingarstarfsemi og vinnumarkaðar í iðnaði.
Skoða heimild ↗Fyrirvarar
The exact share of foreign workers in construction is difficult to pin down precisely because some workers are employed by foreign subcontractors on posted worker arrangements and may not appear in Icelandic employment statistics. Seasonal variation is significant, with higher foreign worker presence during summer building months.
Notuð í greiningum (1)
Ópólitískur fróðleiksmoli um ESB Vísir
- Að hluta staðfest Styður Um miðja öld verður að líkindum helmingur vinnumarkaðarins á Íslandi af erlendum uppruna.