Infrastructure projects and programmes already account for about 10% of the total UK construction workforce and more than 50% of the engineering construction workforce.
Infrastructure output is forecast to grow to account for between 12 and 14% of annual construction output by the end of the decade.
Within the railway industry, the shortage of critical resources such as linesmen, signalling designers, test and commission engineers will result in wage infl ation, over the next 5 years, of between 25 and 40%.
Millennials want security and variety in their career; they want to be challenged and valued; but they also want to work for a company of which they can be proud. One of the characteristics of millennials, which is often ignored, is that they are primed to do well by doing good. Almost 70% say that giving back and being civically engaged are their highest priorities. The organisations that are going to benefit most from budding talent are those that accommodate and attract them – especially given that young people are more likely to move between employers, and even from career to career, than previous cohorts.
Working practices will also have to change if this generation is going to be happy in a hard hat. Cultural change takes time, of course – but more immediately, the industry could do a much better job of communicating to young people what’s great about working in construction. For example, the industry is bad at showing the sheer variety of jobs and professions that get lumped in together under the catch-all of ‘construction’. The sector needs to better show that construction has something for everyone, from project managing a multi-million pound commercial high-rise to becoming a building informational modelling specialist, or going into one of the many essential support roles.
One way of doing this is through universities. As explored in the Universities UK and UK Commission for Employment and Skills report Forging Futures, employers and universities are now working in collaboration to create more effective routes to the highly skilled jobs crucial to the country’s economic future, including those in construction. The problem with targeting graduate-level talent, of course, is that every other sector is fighting for the same people. So the industry should also work with primary and secondary schoolchildren, explaining how exciting a career in the construction industry can be and what subjects they should study to get there.
In continental countries like Germany and Spain, construction is held in high regard and young people are actively encouraged to enter the industry, so it is possible to appeal to Millennials. In the UK, there just aren’t enough conversations around the dinner table where parents say: “Why don’t you go into construction?” With the help of a more-up-to-date culture and better communication, we may be able to finally see that change and dispel some of those lingering stereotypes of the construction industry.
Developments also create skills gaps, as existing staff are unlikely to have all the skills needed. The role of data is having a huge
impact across the transport sector, on infrastructure providers and equipment
manufacturers alike.
TACKLING THE SKILLS SHORTAGE
13