Partner Article

Skills shortages in the UK construction industry

With the construction sector enjoying a more positive outlook than it has in recent years and with the amount of major projects undertaken set to increase in the coming months, the number of construction sector vacancies is invariably going to rise.

In fact a recent report by the CITB suggests that more than 182,000 additional construction jobs will be needed across the UK between 2014 and 2018.

The CITB expects construction output will grow by an average of 2.2 per cent a year until 2018 following a fairly rapid rebound from recession to growth. However while this may seem like good news, this is only the case if firms can acquire the resources to contribute to this growth i.e. funding and labour that allows them to expand their business activities.

A major concern for construction firms is the ability to fill vacancies with good quality, qualified candidates – as an example 26% of construction firms surveyed by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) stated that construction activities were being hindered by a lack of qualified quantity surveyors.

One of the key points raised from the survey is that within the construction industry there is a lack of a relationship between schools and the industry and therefore there is a very real chance that the labour resources required to meet the expected growth of the industry will not be met.

Douglas McCormick, a commissioner at UKCES suggests to counter the imbalance employers must plan their talent pipeline well ahead of time as failure to find the right staff can mean a loss of contracts. However on top of that there must be more dialogue between educational institutions, government and employers to make sure that job seekers are more adequately prepared for roles within the construction industry.

In the case of the government it is not enough to know what skills the country as whole lacks instead local leaders must know which jobs are opening up in their regions and anticipate the learning gaps that will need filled. The government is making some headway in areas such as apprenticeships where they are working with employers to develop the correct skills of job seekers.

One new pilot scheme, the Employer Ownership Pilot allows specific employers to develop national qualification programmes; for instance under the scheme Laing O’Rourke was awarded funding to develop the steelfixing level 2 apprenticeship.

However even if employers do offer training they still need good quality trainees and apprentices and that’s where a problem lies at the school level; too many school leavers are being persuaded by teachers and careers services to take an academic route rather than a vocational route.

The outcome of this practise at schools is that a lot of the leavers that do end up pursuing a vocational route don’t have the capabilities that the industry requires. With less than two thirds of University graduates working in degree level roles maybe now is the time for schools to rethink their attitudes toward pushing leavers towards higher education.

Written by Cameron Webster from Probuild Contract Services

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Probuild Contract Services .