As the construction sector scrambles to find one million extra employees to meet building demands, contractors have been warned to invest in their existing workforce…
Recruitment agency Peace Recruitment has warned failing to invest in workers could leave many construction firms at risk of losing staff.
A skills shortage in the sector is undoubtedly already causing issues for employers. However, it gives workers the freedom to move to jobs that offer greater incentives. This means companies are having to offer candidates the best deals in a bid to attract talent to their firms.
In the drive to gain new staff, Peace Recruitment warned employers to remember their existing workforce. The firm said the numbers of underappreciated workers looking for better opportunities elsewhere was increasing.
Managing Director of Peace Recruitment Chris Peace urged construction firms to act now.
“We all know about the problems the skills shortage is causing the construction sector, but I’m afraid for many companies it could be about to get a whole lot worse,” he said,
“Companies need to invest in their existing employees now or risk losing them, whether that’s increasing pay, upskilling or promoting.
“From what we are seeing firms are so focused on attracting new talent to their organisation that many are forgetting about their existing employees who are feeling unappreciated and disconnected.
“Many firms are working with limited capacity, which means they cannot take on any more work without hiring new staff, so all their attention is on attracting new workers and they are neglecting the people who are already there.
“This is especially true if companies are bringing in new talent on higher wages, without ensuring parity is kept.
“As a result of staff feeling undervalued many are beginning to look at the opportunities that lie elsewhere, where they are in high demand and where they will get paid more. And, of course, due to the skills shortage if you lose key members of staff it is very difficult to replace them. So we are urging all construction companies to, first and foremost, look after what they already have.
“Train, promote and invest from within, this has to be the top priority. If companies fail to do this morale and ultimately productivity will be reduced and staff will leave.”
The warning followed the 2015 RICS UK Construction Survey, which revealed the scale of the construction skills shortage is deepening. According to the survey 63 per cent of firms in the Scottish construction industry are experiencing issues recruiting new staff.
Research released today also advised the UK needs to find one million extra construction workers by 2020 to meet housebuilding targets. The analysis from specialist recruiter Randstand CPE showed the construction workforce needs to grow to 1.98 million in order to build government targest of 300,000 homes per year.
Managing director of Randstad Construction, Property & Engineering Owen Goodhead said: “Doubling the rate of house building will mean at least doubling the workforce involved too.
“The housing crisis is a skills crisis, too. That means a practical challenge for workers as much as it is a conceptual issue for politicians.”
Lyndon Wood, CEO and owner of insurance specialist www.constructaquote.com, said the sector needed to ensure the opportunities were in place for young people to take up opportunities in construction.
“The cost of education sky-rocketing in recent years has further fuelled the argument that apprenticeships are the right response in addressing decreasing skills throughout the UK, and the government should be doing more in order to delegate more financial support to conquer skill shortages,” he said.
“If we are to harness the power to grow our construction sector by introducing the additional one million workers needed to meet the 2020 housing demand, we need to make sure that we’re not neglecting to present young people to the opportunities available to them.
“For us to fulfil housing needs, it’s necessary for us to do something about the decreasing number of young people in the UK completing apprenticeships. With such a small percentage of young people in the construction sector, we run the risk of an aging workforce failing to replenish.
“With fewer young people entering the sector, the industry will find it difficult to introduce and apply new skills. The industry needs people with relevant skills and with many unemployed young people in the UK; we could be doing more to introduce them to the construction sector.
“We do not want to be smack-bang in the middle of a situation that resembles the post 1990’s recession labour market. We must not remain inactive in our failings to address large-scale unemployment amid the able-bodied youth of the UK; especially when there’s an opportunity to increase apprenticeships and employment throughout our construction industry.”