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‘The construction industry needs to change with the times’
The construction sector needs to shake things up if it is to remain at the forefront of technology and creative solutions, warn industry insiders.
This is a key message to come out of an event, hosted by Women in Property South West, at Burges Salmon in Bristol that saw some 50 companies convene to discuss what needs to be done to improve the workforce, focusing on attracting, retaining and inspiring talent.
Business leaders say the chronic skills shortage facing the construction industry is threatening future development of essential infrastructure and they have voiced frustration at the lack of action nationally to address the situation.
Work underway on phase two at Wapping Wharf. Photo by Jon Craig
“The skills shortage in the construction industry is well-known and documented, with projections showing that we will need to recruit and train nearly 100,000 additional skilled workers by the end of the decade,” says Dave Smith, regional managing director for Balfour Beatty – the company currently working on the latest phase of regeneration at Wapping Wharf.
“Challenges, including uncertainty around access to skilled labour from the EU following Brexit and the need to respond to increasing digitisation and automation, call for a strong, integrated response at all levels.
“Despite this vast industry skills requirement and the continued investment in major infrastructure schemes, little progress has been made to increase the flow of people into the sector.”
A recent survey by Business West found that 32.8 per cent of the respondents felt poor perception of the industry was a barrier to hiring new talent, which is vital to help the sector grow in line with technological advances.
In addition, the lack of women and minority groups in the industry limits the talent pool available.
Rachael Sherratt is calling for a unified voice to address challenges in the industry
Speaking about the need for positive action and a unified voice in the sector, Rachael Sherratt, of property consultancy JLL in Bristol and Women in Property says: “If there is something that has worked in one business, the likelihood is it will also work elsewhere. We want to make it easy for businesses to make change happen by sharing this knowledge.”
Local government is pouring funds into the problem and a new £6m skills centre is set to open at the City of Bristol College in 2021, with provision to train around 850 people over the first three years.
It will be funded by the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and will be administered by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).
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Read more: New £6m construction skills centre for Bristol
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Announcing the plans in June, professor Steve West, chair of the West of England LEP, said: “Construction is a vital contributor to our economy and we must ensure that we have a strong and steady pipeline of talent for construction businesses.
“My hope is that whilst training for today, we innovate and re-think construction for the future.”
Bristol City Council has also invested through projects such as On Site Bristol, which since 2014, has supported 344 small and medium enterprises to access over £0.5m of funding to hire apprentices in the construction and building services industries.
Smith welcomes the promotion of careers in construction to young people and says Balfour Beatty actively plays its part through its Learn Live programme, in which employees virtually ‘meet’ graduates to talk through opportunities via a live interactive broadcast.
But he argues the industry must also become more strategic in meeting this challenge.
“We must do more to invest in innovation and techniques that will structurally reduce our reliance on such a large workforce,” says Smith.
“Modernising and digitising our workforce and the way we deliver projects is key to upskilling, attracting and retaining the array of talent the sector requires to keep Britain moving.”
Main image by Jon Craig.
Read more: How can businesses encourage more women into construction?
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