Construction vacancies are at an all-time high with over 50,000 live vacancies.
As construction workers reach retirement age and fewer workers replace them there is a concern about skill shortages. In 2020 employment levels in the industry fell by 0.7% and vacancies increased by 213.4% in Q3 with a decline of 53.9% in applications per vacancy.
In the last quarter of 2021 construction directly employed 1.07 million compared to the 1.125 million employed in the first quarter of 2020. On top of this Self Employment within the industry also fell by 179,000 and in early 2021 was at its lowest level in 18 years.
This is not all due to Brexit, even though this did have an effect, but COVID also meant many workers from overseas went home and now because of Brexit have to apply for Visas before being allowed back to work in the UK.
Retirement has increased in our industry with over 22% of over 50s and 15% of over 60s currently within the industry retiring.
The construction industry hasn’t always had a good image, and this is now impacting the availability of staff. CITB data shows the appeal of the industry for younger people is low, scoring 4.2 out of 10 for teenagers. The preconceived ideas of the industry do not appeal.
The Effect
The main effect of the shortage is an increase in costs for skilled labour.
Open university found that £6 billion was spent to decrease the skill gap in 2020. Companies are increasing salaries to retain the skilled labour they have, even overpaying on some occasions.
In 2020 companies spent £2.2 million on temporary agency fees to plug the immediate gaps they had.
The shortage of labour has resulted in 56% of companies reporting they are turning down work as they cannot fulfil orders due to the shortages of staff.
Meeting Demand
In 2020 due to Coronavirus sites were forced to close or delayed starting, but by the end of 2021 construction had bounced back quicker than anyone could have forecast and was back at levels not seen since 2019
The Construction Skills Network forecast the need for over 216,000 new workers by 2025 to meet demand. The wood trade and interior fit-out workers are the most in-demand. It’s estimated that 5,500 workers will need to be trained in these trades, each year, to keep up with the growing demand. The other specialities that need high growth are electricians (3,400 per year) and construction managers (3,600 per year).
CSN predict the biggest output within the industry will be Private Housing 20.7%, non-housing maintenance 18.7%, housing maintenance 17.9% and commercial 15.9%.
What can we do?
Filling the skill gap is not going to be a quick fix. We need to appeal to the younger generation and make our industry the place to be.
The younger generations are generally attracted to technology, and we need to highlight how often it is used in construction. Drones are being used to complete more accurate site surveys. Artificial intelligence is being used by site managers to predict potential hazards and risks. Computer Aids design is becoming more advanced giving clients a chance to see their ideas come alive on screen.
Apprenticeships need to be made more attractive, as they are often seen as just short-term employment with no future. Changing this image is vital if you retain staff after qualifying it shows you are invested in career development.
Advertising job opportunities via social media can attract the younger generation and can highlight the wealth of opportunities in the industry.
Finding skilled labour in the right location, with the correct qualifications and at the right cost is proving difficult so investing in existing labour within their organisation and training them can help fill the gaps and incentivise them to stay at the company.
Challenging gender equality putting an end to the “boy club” stigma. Women made up 57% of the UK workforce in 2019 but only 15% of the construction workforce, this is up from 10% which held steady for several years.
- https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/insights/new-opportunities-amid-uk-construction-skills-shortages/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Office%20for,in%20EU%20workers%204%205.
- https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Tackling_the_construction_skills_shortage
- https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/skills/number-of-self-employed-workers-hits-18-year-low-as-skills-shortage-bites-22-02-2022/
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/timeseries/jp9l/lms
- https://www.citb.co.uk/media/b4fpu2hg/uk_summary.pdf
- https://www.sitechwest.com/blog/types-of-construction-technology/
