52
OCTOBER 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Builders’
legs worth
£1.1 million
How British workers
measure up to
Taylor Swift style
insurance valuations
Growth for
construction
despite woes
Construction output is forecast to increase by 13.2% by
2017 and private house building is expected to be a key
driver of this growth, according to the latest forecasts
from the Construction Products Association.
A sharp fall in public housing, however, is expected
to hinder short-term growth
whilst significant investment in building a skilled
workforce will be needed to
support construction in the
medium-term.
Key highlights from the forecasts
include:
• Total construction output is
forecast to rise 4.9% in 2015,
4.2% in 2016 and 3.5% in 2017
• Private house building is anticipated to rise 9.0% in 2015, 5.5%
in 2016 and 3.5% in 2017
• Public house building is forecast
to fall 10.0% in 2015, 5.0% in
2016 and remain flat in 2017
• Infrastructure output is forecast
to rise 10.3% in 2015, 10.8% in
2016 and 10.4% in 2017
Dr Noble Francis, Economics
Director, commented: “Prospects
for the construction industry are
very bright. Construction output is
forecast to increase 4.9% in 2015 –
almost double the rate of growth
for the UK economy as a whole
– and 21.7% overall by 2019. This
growth will mainly be driven by
an increase in work across the
private housing and infrastructure
sectors.
“Private house building is forecast to rise by 9.0% in 2015 and
5.5% in 2016 as it benefits from a
strong property market supported
by rising real wages, increased
mortgage availability and government policies such as Help to Buy.
However, public house building
activity is expected to fall sharply
– 10% in 2015 and 5.0% in 2016 –
due to the negative impact of cuts
to social rents and the extension
of Right to Buy on housing association funding.
Dr Francis continued: “Infrastructure is also forecast to be one
of the key drivers of construction
growth over the next five years.
The government has a National
Infrastructure Plan in place with a
pipeline of projects across the UK
worth £411 billion. As a consequence, we forecast that infrastructure output will experience
double-digit growth each year to
the end of our forecast horizon in
2019.
“Our forecast growth of 21.7%
by 2019 for construction has
raised a key risk regarding the
lack of skilled labour. Employment in the UK construction industry is now 390,000 lower than
at its 2008 peak. So far, the lack
of skilled labour has primarily
affected the house building sector.
In the short-term, it is already
putting upward pressure on costs.
In the medium-term, the forecast growth will not be possible
without significant investment in
skills.”
www.constructionproducts.org.uk
Taylor Swift might have
insured her legs for £26 million ($40 million) but British
workers also put high price
tags on their body parts.
The average worker from Yorkshire and the Humber values their
legs at £818,396 which is 8% lower
than the UK average of £891,408.
The average builder thinks their
legs would be worth £1,185,000
for being crucial tools of their
trade.
The research, conducted by
family focused insurance brand
There®, asked 2,000 professionals
across 20 different industries to
put an insurance value on different body parts to highlight their
impact on earning potential.
Engineers top the tables with an
insurance value on their eyes of
£3.4 million, followed by plumbers
and electricians at £3.1 million and
telecoms workers at £2.6 million.
Plumbers and electricians also
put one of the highest price tags
on their hands at £2.2 million,
with their index finger alone being
worth £1,196,107 in compensation.
Philippa McLaglen, Marketing
Manager from There® explains:
“Taylor Swift insuring her legs isn’t
as crazy as it sounds; they’re part
of the ‘Taylor Swift ’ brand and so
affect her earning power. Similarly
damage to a builder’s leg or an
engineer’s eye would have a big
impact on their earning potential.
Being fit and healthy is crucial to
an individual’s ability to do their
job which is why, despite so many
other financial pressures, one in
four in our study has considered
insuring themselves against being
unable to work due to injury. With
financial protection, anything is
better than nothing if you get injured and can’t do your job.”
The research also showed a
difference between self-employed
and employed workers. Self-employed people valued their bodies
even more highly. This is reflected
in the fact the self-employed are
more likely to think insurance
against injury is a sensible precaution (57% vs. 45%) and that 64%
of them feel more pressure to take
care of their physical well-being
because they are self-employed.
Philippa McLaglen, Marketing
Manager of There® continues: “The
self-employed are especially at risk
and feel the pinch more than those
who have the safety net of an employer that provides sick pay.”
Source: The research was
conducted by OnePoll on behalf
of There® surveying 2,000 UK
workers across 20 industries.
Carried out online August 2015