Commercial partnership
Walls Construction has been shaping the nation’s landscape since 1950. Celebrating its 75th birthday in 2025, it is recognised today as one of Ireland’s leading construction companies renowned for its commitment to quality, excellence and innovation in building, and outstanding customer service.
“As our turnover continues to grow year on year, attracting and retaining talent is a top business priority and to help meet this challenge, a range of proactive steps and innovative initiatives are in place,” says Debbie Treacy, Head of Human Resources in Walls. “One of these, our Coming Home to Walls recruitment campaign, has resonated deeply with Irish professionals abroad,” Debbie adds.
In 2019, Olvan McDermott returned to Ireland after successfully embarking on his career as a civil engineer in England. “I had contacts both within Walls and working for their subcontractor partners, who spoke highly of the culture and opportunities that existed,” Olvan shares.
“Also, the volume of work and new business Walls was winning gave me confidence in the long-term career prospects available, while being close to family and friends has been a huge bonus,” Olvan adds. “In the six-year period since, I have been promoted twice, from senior coordinating engineer to project manager and then my current role as contracts manager working on one of the country’s largest residential projects.”
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For new and existing employees providing a positive and supportive organisational culture is an intrinsic aspect of the company’s core values. “We are committed to respecting equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging for the benefit of all our employees,” says Debbie. “Our priority is to make employees feel psychologically safe, included and valued, working in a company that respects equality and fairness and where they can fulfil their potential,” she adds.
Additionally, the leadership team in Walls understands that providing opportunities to ensure new and existing employees grow, become more expert and realise their ambition is paramount. To do this the company’s learning and development function must be front and centre and not just a trend or short-term initiative but a strategic commitment woven into every level of the business.
“To help make this vision a reality we have partnered with three leading institutions, each supporting different stages of our people’s careers,” says Carolina Concialdi, Training & Development Manager in Walls.
“Through our collaboration with Trinity Business School, we deliver tailored programmes for senior leadership that focus on strategic thinking, innovation, and client centricity, empowering our leaders to anticipate client needs and drive our business forward with confidence and creativity”.
Members of Walls Construction’s Graduate Development Programme
At the mid‑management level, Walls’ partnership with UCD Professional Academy is designed to build practical, real‑world skills in people management, communication and operational excellence, while crucially, it also emphasises the importance of coaching and mentoring, equipping managers to support, guide and inspire their teams as they deliver complex projects.
Walls is also playing its part to attract younger people into construction to address the skills shortages in the industry, and to ensure they are equipped with the skills to succeed and grow meaningful careers.
“For our more newly qualified graduates a dynamic, hands‑on programme with Crystal Lean Solutions is provided over six days where participants explore leadership and management styles, learn to organise and execute in real project environments, and master presentation skills,” states Carolina. “This bespoke programme focuses on team dynamics and developing the skills to adapt and lead confidently in a constantly evolving industry,” she adds.
Walls also recognise the importance of starting early and looking ahead. Through its dedicated Transition Year (TY) programme, it aims to inspire the next generation of construction professionals, giving students an early insight into the industry and hands‑on experience, believing that fostering early interest in STEM, engineering, and construction is critical to addressing the skills gap and ensuring a sustainable pipeline of talent for the future.
Beyond these structured programmes, knowledge sharing is a key cultural belief and for many years the company’s structured Lessons Learnt initiatives have captured insights from each project, shared them across teams, and applied them to future projects, turning experience into continuous improvement and real success on site.
From health and safety workshops and technical programmes, to mentoring programmes and support for professional accreditation, Carolina asserts that Walls is committed to lifelong learning.
“We are building an environment where curiosity is encouraged, expertise is shared, and ambition becomes opportunity. As the CIF marks 90 years of outstanding leadership in the Irish construction industry, we join it in celebrating our 75th birthday, proud that our recruitment and learning and development processes enable us to successfully deliver sustainable projects for our clients and communities – building our future together,” she concludes.
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