A new analysis has warned that cutting jobs in the construction industry would damage the sector significantly…
An analysis by One Way has said further loss of jobs in the construction industry would prove critical.
The statement was made after the UK’s construction sector slipped into recession for the first time in four years. The National Housing Federation warned a slowdown in housebuilding could result in the loss of nearly 120,000 construction jobs over the next 10 years.
One Way’s managing director Paul Payne said: “The news that the construction industry has slipped back into recession after four years isn’t particularly optimistic and a loss of jobs on the scale that has been suggested would almost certainly be the first nail in the coffin for the sector.
“We simply can’t afford to lose any more professionals from both construction and housebuilding and the government needs to do considerably more to support these industries before it’s too late.”
“We all saw the potential impact of job losses in the steel industry and the scale of this for construction would be far greater.
“We need more professionals operating in the sector if we want it to recover, not less, and the potential impact of these cuts could be devastating if something isn’t done soon.
“We’ve been very vocal about how the government, employers and trade bodies need to do more to engage with youngsters and promote greater interest in construction, because at the current rate there will barely be an industry left in a few years’ time.
“Confidence is the only way to get through this difficult period and we need more investment and more projects to be given the green light.
“If we take a step back and allow programmes to be put on hold and jobs to be cut it could have a hugely damaging effect on the economy and on thousands of peoples’ lives. As Winston Churchill once said, ‘If you’re going through hell, keep going.’”
