Clearview National March 2020 - Issue 220 | Page 22

INDUSTRYNEWS
How the
Skills Gap has
Affected the
Government’s
Homebuilding
Targets
» IT’S NO SECRET THAT
the construction industry is
currently facing an increasingly
large skills shortage. The
industry has long suffered from
a lack of skilled workers, making
it more difficult than ever to hit
deadlines due to the shrinking
talent pool.
This is a big problem for the
government, whose plans to
build 300,000 new homes a year
by the mid-2020s is becoming
more of a pipe dream. In fact,
according to the Royal Institute
of Chartered Surveyors (RICS),
the lack of skilled construction
workers is at its highest point
since 2007. In order to get back
on track, the industry needs
to recruit over 200,000 more
workers by 2020.
Below, industry experts at
Vizwear explore what problems
the skills shortage in construction
is causing for the government’s
homebuilding targets — and what
companies can do to help fill key
positions.
WHAT’S CAUSING THE
SKILLS SHORTAGE?
The main problem that’s
contributing towards the skills
shortage is that as a whole, the
construction industry is still
battling with an image problem.
“The industry needs to attract
a fresh workforce to keep up
with demands”, says Daniel
Ure from online PPE retailer
Vizwear. “But for many on the
outside, the thought of working
in construction still conjures up
images of wolf-whistling workmen
on building sites. To attract a new
stream of workers, the industry
needs to shake this negative image
and show how the industry has
developed.”
It’s not just the difficulties of
attracting new employees that
are causing a skills shortage,
though: it’s also due to the current
workers.
Data from the 2011 census
showed that in the construction
industry, one in five employees
were aged over 55. This means
22 » M AR 2020 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
that by the early 2020s, when
the industry should be hitting
its homebuilding targets,
most will have reached or
be close to retirement age.
An ageing workforce and an
uphill recruitment battle are a
combination that could have
a detrimental effect on the
industry.
WHAT STEPS CAN
BE TAKEN TO CLOSE
THE GAP?
The biggest barrier facing
the construction industry is
presenting itself as a desirable
career path to potential
employees. Although often seen
in a bad light, there are fantastic
opportunities to be had in
construction, including mechanics,
engineering and electronics.
There are a number of ways
that construction companies can
reach out to the right candidates
and ensure them that a career
in construction is exactly what
they’re looking for.
1. INCREASE EDUCATION
To ensure that the future
workforce in construction is
vibrant and engaged, young people
need to be re-educated about
what construction is really like
A survey created by L&Q
Group discovered that only one
in ten children between the ages
of 16 and 18 would consider a
career in construction, fearing that
the industry would be ‘challenging
and unexciting’. Although
around 50% said that they were
interested in a Science, Technology,
Engineering and Maths (STEM)
career, the construction industry
simply wasn’t appealing enough.
Interestingly, though, the students
who said they would consider
a construction career said that
their reasoning was due to the
excitement of the role.
Working closely with schools
and colleges to promote the
industry is a great way to show
young people that there are a
number of avenues their career
path can take in construction.