Skills

In the quarter before Covid hit the UK economy, there were 27,000 vacancies in the construction sector. That figure was almost 4 per cent higher than in October 2016, when Mark Farmer released his landmark report on the industry’s labour model, which warned of a potential “capacity shrinkage that would…

Making sure firms and workers are competent to carry out construction projects is one of the biggest post-Grenfell initiatives in the sector. CN investigates the progress to date In the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Dame Judith Hackitt’s seminal report Building a Safer Future highlighted a construction industry that…

The further education (FE) sector has a role to play in addressing the retrofit skills shortage. But as MidKent College curriculum director Jane Le Poidevin (pictured) says: “The retrofit landscape is so challenging. I think the sector’s a long way from meeting some of its targets, especially in terms of…

Joanna Hunt is head of immigration at Fieldfisher Recent developments in the immigration sector have been a bit of a mixed bag for the construction industry. When it was announced recently that several construction roles would be added to the shortage occupations list to enable companies to recruit overseas workers…

Andrew Waddington is senior technical manager at Morgan Sindall Construction Given that teamwork, resilience and a strong work ethic are highly prized in the construction industry, it’s not surprising many employers recognise the value of recruiting people who have served in the armed forces. Morgan Sindall Construction is one of…

Danny Clarke is commercial director of the National Federation of Builders In a world where equality, diversity and inclusion have become central themes in discussions around the modern workplace, one facet often remains unexplored to the degree it should – neurodiversity. This vital aspect of human diversity, encompassing conditions such…

Decarbonising the nation’s homes requires an immense and multifaceted retrofit effort – but is the construction sector sufficiently skilled to deliver it? Keith Cooper investigates Turning tens of millions of homes green is a huge task for construction, and its workforce will play a pivotal role. But it’s a job…

Civil engineer Emmanuel Afolabi is one of the thousands that have suffered the crushing disappointment of missing out on a dream career in sport. He has made it his mission to help others going through the same to consider turning their talents to construction and engineering Football was everything to…

Mark Leeson is operations director at property and construction consultancy McBains The news that for the first time in six years there’s been an increase in the number of apprentices starting careers in construction is welcome. More than 26,000 apprenticeships began in the year to July 2022 – that’s 6,000…

Caroline Evans is the corporate strategy director for Arden University  The UK workforce is about to have a rude awakening. Research suggests that by 2030, 30 per cent of all jobs here could be eradicated due to automation. For the construction industry, this means more than half a million jobs…