A call for evidence into skills, materials, and technology in the housing sector has been launched
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has asked for an insight into the housing sector with a call for evidence into a key number of areas. This includes skills, materials and the use of technology.
The call is part of work being carried out by a wider coalition, the National Housing Taskforce. This has been organised by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Housing and Planning.
The taskforce is working across 12 areas to investigate and discover how to tackle the housing crisis. It is hoped this will give insight into the current challenges facing the housebuilding sectors. The group will examine the impact of planning reform, the role of housing associations, and the skills shortage.
Recommendations are set to be submitted by each workstream later this year, with the CIOB working on the construction labour market. This includes availability, productivity and diversity.
The CIOB will investigate the role of new technology in the future of housebuilding as well as the availability of materials. Other considerations will include off-site manufacture and modern methods of construction and the link to skills.
David Hawkes, CIOB Policy Manager, said: “At its most basic level, what this work-stream boils down to is capacity.
“Studies have shown the housing sector needs 120,000 new employees just to meet the required annual level of homes the UK needs.
“At the same time, house builders say they cannot build more than 150,000 homes per year via conventional means.
“What this suggests to us is that something needs to fundamentally change if we are to properly address the housing crisis. We need more people working more productively and we have to work out how best to utilise and implement new technologies, materials and processes.”
Submissions from industry, government, education establishments, professionals and other interested stakeholders will be welcomed by the CIOB.
Some of the questions that could be looked at include:
- What barriers are there to long-term training and skills development in the housing sector? What incentives can be used?
- What is the role for small and medium-sized house builders in addressing skills gaps or leading the way with new technology? Are there examples of any successful business models in smaller companies that have the capacity to be upscaled?
- What difference do technological innovations make to our needs for skills and materials?
- Are current government policies supporting investment in new technology for house building?
- What can the industry do to attract and train more people, and what can be done to improve labour productivity?
- What will be the effects of the vote to leave the EU on skills, materials and new technology?
Evidence needs to be submitted by 5pm on 9 September 2016. For more information visit: http://policy.ciob.org/consultations
