Report shows growing demand in skills in the construction industry

In February 2018, CITB (The Construction Industry Training Board) published a report revealing that there will be a large demand for transferable skills as recruitment will become more difficult after Brexit. https://www.citb.co.uk/news-events/uk/2018/construction-set-for-growth-despite-brexit-uncertainty/

There will be no shortage of opportunities for workers because the report estimates that 158,000 new construction jobs will be created between 2018-2022. The problem is that those new positions need to be filled with skilled workers.

[edit] Why is there a lack of skills in the industry?

The government has given house builders tougher targets as the demand for houses increase year after year, and the number of positions needed to achieve these targets is not getting filled. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has predicted that the lack of skills could affect 27,000 construction projects every year due to the lack of staff.

More than 400,000 UK construction workers were set to retire in the 5-10 years from 2013, so it is important that the younger generation is upskilled and meeting the goals of building 300,000 new homes every year. Ref https://www.citb.co.uk/news-events/archives/uk-construction-skills-time-bomb/

The benefits of learning new skills can include:

• Better salaries.
• Investment in up-skilling or training.
• Increased job satisfaction.
• Increased motivation and confidence.

[edit] How do we encourage younger people to get into construction?

The good news is that the government are encouraging young people to take more apprenticeships by setting a target of 3 million across all sectors.

It’s good to see that more apprenticeships are being introduced in this sector but it’s important that the basic skills are taught in secondary schools as well. This should help encourage and inspire young people to get into the world of construction and enhance their skills.

The decline in skilled workers in this industry was expected, but this can be fixed if industry experts, the government and schools collaborate to try and encourage younger people to work in this sector.