Construction employment in Yorkshire and the Humber to reach 200,000 by 2020

Figures from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) today reveal that there will be 8,000 new jobs in construction in Yorkshire and the Humber over the next five years – with the industry employing over 200,000 people.

CITB’s annual Construction Skills Network report predicts that the region will experience steady annual growth in construction output of 2.4% in the period up to 2020.

Within Yorkshire and the Humber, construction output has risen for a second consecutive year, by 11% to £9.7bn. This figure was aided by 158% growth in public housing, with this sector now standing at a record £387m.

There were also 23% and 29% expansions in private housing and commercial sectors, to £1.6bn and £2.1bn, respectively.

Amongst the biggest projects boosting growth is the regeneration of the area bounded by Pinstone Street and Furnival Gate in Sheffield and redevelopment at the University of Huddersfield.

To help deliver this pipeline of work, CITB has joined forces with the construction industry to expand Go Construct, a web portal that helps people find out about the range of great construction career opportunities available.

Steve Housden, CITB sector strategy manager for Yorkshire and the Humber commented: “We can’t build the Britain we want without apprenticeships and the careers they lead to. That’s why we want these new statistics, showing solid, sustained growth, to inspire more people across Yorkshire and the Humber to start apprenticeships and more construction firms to take them on.

“We also want to attract workers who have left the industry to return, and upskill those in it, so we can deliver major projects and new housing faster and better.”

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