young construction worker

The age old question – skills shortage and the younger generation

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Are younger workers the answer to a skills shortage?

Construction industry businesses are being encouraged to employ more young people to alleviate a skills shortage caused by an ageing working population. According to the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) the total number of workers over the age of 60 has increased more than any other age group, whilst the under 30s have shown the biggest reduction.

However, does this mean that construction companies are loosing the valuable experience of older workers? According to the CITB, over the next 10 years 20% of the workforce will retire, approximately 406,00 people. .

As the UK prepares to leave the EU, the question of whether workers from other countries will be able to continue to work here post Brexit could begin a battle to retain and attract new staff. Future growth depends on being able to find skilled workers, and this is no longer a certainty in the recent political climate.

School and College leavers would be the obvious choice to take their place, and with apprenticeships and work schemes becoming ever more popular, the skills shortage looks like it can be plugged. However, the Government are encouraging more people in their 50s and 60s to work longer. Work and Pensions secretary Damian Hinds said that in 2010 1 in 4 of the working population was aged 50 and over, and this is projected to increase to 1 in 3 by 2022. By 2035 people aged 50 and over will comprise half of the UK adult population.

Younger workers can bring a freshness and innovation, a need for change, while older works bring decades of experience and knowledge. This would be lost, and it would take a long time for a new recruit to build up the required skill set.

Long term plans need to be put in place to ensure that skills shortages are kept to a minimum, and companies find ways of bringing in new employees whilst doing all they can to retain those who have worked for most of their lives. Construction is a fast moving and ever changing employment sector, with may different facets and career paths. Encouraging the younger generation into the fold whilst the lure of a career in the ever expanding technology sector keeps them interested will be something that the construction industry needs to be on top of.

Construction Industry on the rise with positive results for the beginning of the year.

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The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have published their quarterly State of Trade Survey for 2017. According to the FMB Chief Executive Brian Berry, the start to 2017 proved to be a positive one for the UK’s small to medium construction companies . 

Berry also commented that the first quarter of this year saw growing workloads in every devolved nation and English region, with particularly strong results in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Against a background of significant political uncertainty, including Brexit and the General Election, this demonstrates a resilience in our sector that can sometimes go underappreciated. All of the key metrics of growth – workloads, enquiries, employment and expectations – were positive. However, these encouraging findings are dampened somewhat by continuing price inflation, with material and wage increases being widely reported. The remainder of the year will undoubtedly provide its challenges, but in the short term at least, builders are confident about their prospects.

The key statistics were as follows:

Workloads grew markedly in every region and nation of the UK

85% of builders believe that material prices will rise in the next 3 months.

In the three months to March 2017, small to medium businesses workloads showed rising levels of activity. More firms reported higher workloads compared with the previous quarter (35% vs 32%), while fewer businesses reported lower workloads (14% vs 20%).

Over the next three months businesses are predicting an increase in activity levels. The share of respondents forecasting higher workloads went up to 50% from 26%. In contrast, firms anticipating lower workloads declined to just 5% from 21% during the latter part of 2016

Output prices, wages and salaries and material costs are all predicted to increase over the next six months

Approximately 14% of businesses stated higher workloads, up from 9%, while those reporting lower levels decreased to 9% from 26%. However, just over three quarters of firms (77%) stated no change in workloads.

Around 50% of businesses are forecasting higher residential workloads over the next three months, up from 26%, while just 5% of respondents anticipate lower workloads, down from 21%.

For non residential workloads, around 23% of businesses forecast higher workloads, up from 15%, while just 7% of firms expect lower workloads, down from 18%. Approximately 70% of the respondents forecast no change in workloads, up from 66% in the previous quarter.

Bricklayers were reported as being the most difficult to recruit in the first quarter of this year. Carpenters/joiners, site managers and plumbers and HVAC trades were also hard to come by. In contrast, fewer respondents had difficulties hiring scaffolders and floorers in comparison with other trades.

So, its a positive time for the construction industry with figures on the rise. Post Brexit construction is likely to have to find its feet, but with workloads increasing and customers not being put off by the Brexit unknown, construction can continue to grow and play an important part in our economy.