The research shows that many employers in the engineering construction industry(ECI) are having difficulties when hiring workers
The ECITB Workforce Census shows that 71% of employers are experiencing challenges when hiring.
This is up from 53% in the previous 2021 census.
The ECITB Workforce Census surveyed 74,609 workers, 78.8% of the total ECI workforce
The surveyed workers were spread across 162 establishments representing 1,621 locations.
While all vacancies are being affected, electrical engineers, pipefitters, riggers, and design technicians were ranked as the most difficult positions to fill.
This is also due to a myriad of reasons, but the most commonly cited reasons were a shortage of qualifications and skills among candidates, discrepancies between candidate expectations and what employers offer, a limited applicant volume, mobility and location issues, and higher competition from other employers and sectors.
There is an increase in workers under the age of 30 working in ECI, up from 14.7% to 16.8%. However, this is not enough to maintain a balance with the number of older workers (over 60) who are getting closer to retirement, as they too increase from 11.6% to 14.7%.
“Challenges are predominantly for skilled workers”
Craft roles were a particular concern in the census, with the average skilled worker being older than the industry average. 20% of pipefitters, 24% of welders, and 30% of platers are over 60.
The ECITB workforce research also showed that nuclear is the largest sector within the engineering construction industry, making up 39.2% of all workers and growing larger than oil and gas at 35.2%.
Renewables has also grown at a rapid pace over three years, with its percentage-share of the workforce doubling to 6.2%. Hydrogen and carbon capture also grew quickly to 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively.
The percentage of women in the ECI workforce also grew from 13.8% in the last census to 16.9%. ECITB suggest that, while encouraging, improvement in this area is required.
Through to 2027, the industry expects a workforce growth of just 11.7%. 83.3% of employers expect their headcount to increase, while only 1.1% expect a decrease.
ECITB chief executive, Andrew Hockey, said: “The Census is vital in helping industry understand labour market dynamics, anticipate workforce challenges and develop strategies to address skill gaps across Great Britain.
“The hiring challenges are predominantly for skilled workers where engineering construction companies are competing to recruit from the same pool of experienced workers.
“But we also need to increase the pool of people joining the industry – training new recruits, encouraging people to embark on a career in the ECI and increasing training provider capacity to grow new entrant numbers.
The ECITB is “fully committed” to investing in the ECI workforce
“That’s why almost half of the £87m committed to support industry in our three-year strategy (2023-2025) has been allocated to supporting new entrants, including through our apprenticeship and graduate grants, Scholarship and Work Ready programmes,” Hockey continued.
“Our Regional Skills Hub funding is designed to boost training provider capacity and grow new entrant numbers in the ‘Industrial Cluster’ hot spots and other major engineering construction centres of activity at the heart of the UK’s decarbonisation agenda.
“Only through bringing in new talent, training and upskilling existing workers can industry benefit from the skilled workforce it needs both for now and the future. The ECITB will continue to support employers to invest in their talent pipeline – from helping industry to grow the number of apprenticeships and graduate opportunities, developing alternative entry pathways as well as funding quality training to upskill and reskill the workforce.
“By investing in the workforce, new and existing, the industry has a fighting chance of closing the skills gap – and this mission is one that the ECITB remains fully committed to.”
