With the government encouraging construction activity within the UK, the UK construction workforce will need to be able to meet demand. Tim Barrett, the chair of the Construction Alliance Northeast, writes in depth about the issue
If current trends continue, the construction industry workforce will need more than the original additional 280,000 skilled workers nationally and potentially up to 30,000 in the North East alone in the next five years.
There is already a serious shortfall of people, so how are we going to meet the Government’s stretching targets for new homes in addition to building a wide range of other commercial and industrial projects?
We are facing a workforce crisis, and we need to act now – and in collaboration with other representative bodies in our sector, we are doing just that. The four organisations which make up CAN are Northern Counties Builders Federation, Civil Engineering Contractors Association, the Federation of Master Builders, and the National Federation of Builders.
We play an important strategic role in supporting and promoting the North East’s SME contractors around better procurement, fair payment and skills.
The North East has always had a great pool of talent to draw from, however, the construction industry is finding this increasingly hard to tap into.
Construction needs to be promoted differently
Looking specifically at developing the next generation of workers, we have to look at the areas we traditionally source our workforce from, and data does suggest that, if we farm these groups effectively, they will provide a significant number of the 30,000 people to help meet future needs:
- youth and the apprenticeship scheme
- those in employment who want to retrain for a new career
- those who are fit to work but are in long term unemployment
- those who have retired who may want to still contribute to the workforce
We see construction promoted to the incoming generation as a last option for them. However, once trained and experienced, construction operatives, at all levels, can earn more than in many other sectors, with an average salary around 15% higher than the average UK salary which, over the term of a career, can make a significant difference.
Promotion opportunities are also unlimited in construction, with many starting with a trade background and working their way into senior management roles over the course of their career. Again, expanding their earning potential, with site and contracts managers having salary packages in the North East ranging from £50-80k p.a.
We also must not underestimate making the industry more diverse to attract more potential workers. However, we will still be short of the numbers required. So, where do we get our additional workforce from and how do we skill them?
By speaking to both clients and contractor bodies, we will support our alliance partners’ recruitment campaigns that focus on bringing new people into the industry and promoting life-long careers.
We are also investigating the potential for a skills summit this year bringing clients, contractors and others together to come up with local solutions to a national problem around the skills issues.
So, our next steps are to meet with our committee comprising of our four supporting bodies to come up with ideas and a combined strategy to take to regional and national Government and other bodies, such as CITB, to try and help with the issue.
CAN encourages working on procurement
CAN aims to help the North East to achieve the proposed targets set by government and, in the process, support its members gain the workforce it needs to compete. We do this through lobbying Government, MPs, local authorities and other procurement organisations, to ensure they understand the wider benefits to our region’s economy of working with local firms.
This year we have undertaken numerous meetings with NEPO as to how clients procure their work and how this could be simplified. We are also organising an event on construction contracts for clients to ensure they understand their roles and responsibilities and how contractors are selected. The aim being to encourage clients to select local contractors that bring with them a local supply chain, thus increasing activity in the local economy, improving lives through the infrastructure and buildings created and also bringing new jobs.
We have also met with various local authorities, including Newcastle City Council, South Tyneside and Durham County Council and they all expressed commitment to assist skills shortages.
Despite the skills challenges, there is optimism with the enlarged North East Combined Authority and a new Mayor. This does bode very well for local decision making and the development of a clear strategy that will drive the region forward. Undoubtedly, new infrastructure and regeneration programmes will be central to the region’s future growth.
This regional drive, together with the Government’s mission to build, build, build, means that unearthing the next generation of skilled construction workers will be recognised as a national priority and that momentum to make this happen will surely be in place very soon.
An opportunity to revitalise perceptions of the construction workforce
Tim Barrett, chair of CAN, said: “The skills shortage in the construction industry is now a widely accepted issue on the inside. We need to make this known to the wider stakeholders, like the government, and turn this potential crisis into an opportunity by getting more people into work.
“We have a chance to make a generational change to our industry which has always been seen as a low level career and promote it as the exciting, cutting edge, well paid and diverse career that it is.”
