The construction industry is one of the UK’s leading sectors. It is an area where investment is high, as with a growing population, there is always a high demand for new housing. Skills for the different roles in the industry are highly valued and are essential, from design all the way through to construction, for good quality builds.
Unfortunately, skills shortages are now hitting the industry. Research conducted by the Federation of Master Builders has found that that companies are struggling to recruit bricklayers and carpenters, and that demand for skilled plumbers, electricians and plasterers is also outstripping supply.
There are a number of factors that are causing these skills shortages, but three of the main reasons are a lack of apprentices entering construction, an aging workforce and the loss of EU workers following Brexit.
With the government pledging to build 300,000 houses a year until 2025, a huge influx of new, skilled construction workers is needed. To do this it’s estimated that nearly 400,000 workers will need to be hired per year. With the current skilled labour shortage in effect this is a huge ask for the industry.
At Bryburn we pride ourselves on our highly skilled workforce. Below are some of our thoughts on how the skilled labour shortage could be overturned.
Attracting new talent
Probably the biggest problem for the industry is the lack of young candidates entering the field. Attracting new talent is critical to the success of the sector, but many reasons including negative views of the industry, a lack of apprenticeship opportunities and not enough awareness or understanding of the roles that are currently available are hampering the current intake.
The government, schools and colleges and businesses need to work harder together to recruit young people into the industry. The government has opened up opportunities for increased output, but attitudes to working in construction need to be changed for young people.
The onus is on schools to show the sector as a viable career option for youngsters on the cusp of leaving school or college. For many the route directly out of school involves university, but schools need to work with businesses to show the construction industry as an attractive alternative.
With the estimated cost of training a construction newcomer around £22,000, it is also believed that there is a lack of commitment in the industry to train young people due to these costs, causing a failure to invest in the future.
At Bryburn, we are committed to adding more apprentices to our workforce as we believe they are essential to our business.
Look after the current workforce
It is estimated that about 25% of the construction workforce is now over the age of 50, while 400,000 of the over 55s are planning to retire in the next decade. Experience is incredibly valuable in any working environment, but the current workforce will begin to decline as new workers are unable to meet the demand left behind by retirees.
Construction is obviously a very physical business and the labour-intensive work can take its toll on more experienced professionals. It is important then to work to extend the careers of senior workers so that skills will stay in the industry and can be passed on to new talent.
One way of retaining potential retirees, is moving them to less physical roles. A management or training job could be an excellent end of career move for aging workers and would have them to put their skills to good use in a safer environment, as well as allowing for them to impart their knowledge and expertise to new employees.
Flexible working could also be attractive for staff who may need a little incentive to stay in work longer. Allowing senior professionals to work on more of a freelance or part time basis would mean that a business and project can still benefit from the influence of skilled workers without running them into the ground.
The Brexodus
A large part of Britain’s construction workforce in recent years has been made up of EU nationals. A recent report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) estimated that 8% of the UK’s construction workers are from EU countries (not including Britain and Ireland) – accounting for some 176,500 individuals.
Many EU nationals are not sure what their status in the UK will be once it eventually leaves the EU, but harsh immigration rules could trigger a mass exodus, which could take with it nearly 180,000 skilled workers and reduce the intake of any future skilled immigrants.
There is no real way for businesses to combat this issue, other than to hope that once the UK is officially out of the EU it does not alienate current and future workers from EU countries. Free movement of people following deadline day (29 March) would allow for the industry to keep its existing skilled immigrant workers and would mean that its intake of new workers would not suffer so much.
Bryburn and skilled workers
At Bryburn it is important for us to have only the most skilled workers working on our projects. We pride ourselves in always having the right people for the job. To this end we support our entire workforce in its development and we are committed to adding more apprentices to it.