UK Construction – Is a skills shortage really a surprise?

It clear for everyone to see that there is currently a skills shortage within the UK construction industry, a problem that is likely to get worse before it gets better.  There needs to be a radical re-think into the manner in which we attract people into the industry, but equally as important is how we actually keep them.

Source: http://www.constructionfutures.org.uk/

At present construction is prominent in the news every single day and increasingly the topic revolves around a skills shortage.  Having worked in the UK construction industry for many years I would suggest that a skills shortage is an inevitable result of the nature of the construction industry and really should not be a surprise to anyone.  In a recent article, Building Magazine (online) highlight the current chronic lack of skills within the UK construction, suggesting that the skills shortage is now at its highest level for six years (Link):

‘Fears of skills shortages in the construction industry hit their highest level for six years in the second quarter of 2014, with 51% of firms saying there are insufficient workers to meet demand, according to the latest RICS UK construction market survey. The survey, which reports a balance of positive responses against negative, showed skills shortages were particularly acute in quantity surveying and bricklaying, where 54% and 59% of respondents, on balance, reported shortages respectively’

The issue was also highlighted in an article early this month in the Telegraph on-line (Link):

‘The scale of the skills shortage in the booming construction sector has been uncovered by data showing the number of vacancies in the industry has risen almost 40pc in the past year. There were 18,000 vacancies in construction in the three months to May according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, a rise of 5,000 on the same period in 2013. Government stimulus measures such as Help to Buy are contributing to the rise but construction – which employs a total of 2.1m people – is still suffering from the after effects of the recession according to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB)’

Source: http://www.wecf.eu/

In reality the fact that there is a skills shortage will not come as a surprise to many who work within the construction industry, as the cyclical nature of the construction industry inevitably results in a large turnover of personnel.  When times are tough construction personnel will either choose to seek career opportunities in other sectors or will be made redundant or ‘layed off’, as construction companies contract whilst adjusting to tougher economic conditions. 

In the UK between 2008 and 2012/13 we experienced not just a recession, but a ‘double dip’ recession and only narrowly avoided a ‘triple dip recession’.  During this period construction suffered significantly with many construction companies going out of business.  Those that did survive found themselves in an exceptionally competitive market which required them to make some serious business decisions just to enable them to stay in business.  One of the first things to suffer during this period for many companies was the training budget.  Having spoken to numerous employers during this period when trying to find placement opportunities for our undergraduate building students, the message was generally consistent, ‘we cannot afford to take anyone on right now, but contact us again when things pick up’.  I am sure that this was replicated across all sectors of the construction industry and at all levels, particularly the construction trades. Some might say that this is just a commercial reality, however this will undoubtedly be one of the main reasons why we have a skills shortage when things eventually start to improve, just like they are now. I wonder how many good quality people we have lost to other industries when they could not find work in the construction industry during this period?

Source: http://www.merchantcircle.com/

The cyclical nature of the construction industry and the negative news that goes along with it during an economic downturn will do little to convince young people that construction will provide a secure future for them.   If this is added to the fact that jobs are more difficult to come by during these periods it is easy to see why young people may consider careers in other sectors.  This will also be a contributing factor to a skills shortage as we need a regular supply of ‘new blood’ to replace those who are retiring or leaving the construction industry.

The current UK Government clearly see Apprenticeships as a way of bridging the skills gap and business secretary Vince Cable has recently given his support to a new commission which is being introduced to oversee apprenticeship.  The Telegraph on-line report (Link):

‘A commission to investigate the quality of apprenticeships in the construction industry and the number of people taking up the training programmes is being launched to help ensure the sector has enough skilled workers. The cross-party project is being launched today by think-tank Demos to examine vocational training across all sectors, though it will focus on construction. The Commission on Apprenticeships comes after an analysis by the Construction Industry Training Board found that the building industry needs 120,000 apprentices over the next five years to fill an emerging skills gap. Research shows that the number of people completing construction apprenticeships has plunged by almost 75pc since the financial crisis, with just 3,760 apprentices completing training in 2012-13, compared with 14,250 four years ago’

On the basis that we have a general election next year some would argue that this type of initiative is introduced to win votes and in reality there is no guarantee that the current government will be in place to see it through.  Trying to introduce 120,000 apprentices into the construction industry over the next five years is all well and good but what about the current shortage and the needs of the near future? With a little foresight would it not have been better for the Government to invest in apprenticeships during the difficult economic period in anticipation that we would need skilled workers to sustain a recovery?  In actual fact what happens is that the Government take a reactive rather than a pro-active approach which only serves to get us into the predicament we now find ourselves in.  No doubt politicians will say that they do not have a crystal ball however they do not need a crystal ball to know that the construction industry always recovers after a recession and usually very strongly. All that is needed is a little forethought into preparing for a recovery that can be sustained, rather than waiting for productivity and output to increase and then start scratching their heads and asking ‘where are all the workers?’

It clear for everyone to see that there is currently a skills shortage within the UK construction industry, a problem that is likely to get worse before it gets better.  There needs to be a radical re-think into the manner in which we attract people into the industry, but equally as important is how we actually keep them.  Government policy and funding needs to take a much longer term approach to ‘training and retaining’ to try to avoid the chronic skills shortages that we are seeing now and have seen after previous recessions. If we continue with the same short sighted approach we have adopted in the past then all we are doing is stifling recover which does not just affect the construction industry but wider sectors of the economy also.

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and colleagues who you think would be interested

Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.

Built Environment Professions - Part 3 - Mentoring - A Professional Necessity

New members of staff require time and if a mentor does not allocate sufficient time to train and supervise them then the consequences are likely to result in a demotivated member of staff who is not developing and likely to make mistakes. If this is the case an employer should question their selection of mentor or ask themselves if they have made provision to fulfill the role effectively with the mentor’s workload.

Source: http://caithnesschamber.com/

Any successful business will undoubtedly have staff development as one of their core business objectives and understand the importance of the continued professional development of their employees.  Although training and development should occur at all levels of a business, a key part of the process involves training of new and junior members of staff when they are embarking on their new profession/role for the first time.  These are the type of people who will be extremely ‘green’ and have maybe decided on a career change or just left education and think they are now ready to enter the stresses and strains of the professional world.  If we take a second to think back a few years (in some cases, like myself, more than a few years) to the time when this was us, you may remember feeling lost, often alone and generally overwhelmed at times. 

If your experience was anything like mine, you were thrown in at the deep end and allowed to sink or swim and basically learn by your mistakes.  Unfortunately, times have moved on and the litigious nature of the professional world, no longer affords us this luxury.  Nowadays organisations appear to be much more inclined to take the training of their newer employees much more seriously and often attach individuals to mentors.  Mentoring is defined by Eric Parsloe, The Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring, as: "Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be’. The role of a mentor is therefore a significant one, usually allocated to an extremely busy individual who will be expected to work closely and oversee the activities of a new member of staff for a defined period of time.

Source: http://shetakesontheworld.com/

For mentoring to be effective it requires time and commitment from the mentor. However time is often a commodity in short supply and if the mentor is not aware or does not take account of the time needed to adequately fulfill their role then the results can be disastrous. Employers need to select mentors very carefully and try to ensure they are appropriately trained, they know what is expected of them and importantly the extra time needed to fulfill the role is taken into account in the mentor’s workload.  If an employer does not take account of these things when selecting a mentor then a number of things will happen.  Firstly, the allocated mentor will immediately feel that the employer is allocating them an additional responsibility with no consideration for their current workload.  Secondly, the new member of staff may be seen as a hindrance (which is actually true in the early days!). Finally the new member of staff, will pick up that they are unwanted, which will make them feel disillusioned and unhappy. This is unfair on the mentor and the employee and creates a situation where nobody achieves what they want.

A good mentor however is invaluable and will realise that every minute that they spend with a new member of staff will be repaid tenfold.  Having acted as a mentor on many occasions I soon realised that the first few weeks required some intensive supervision, which meant that I needed to put certain things on hold so that I could make enough time to allow this to happen.  In these first few weeks I would set a weekly timetable, which would also include time slots where I had arranged for members of staff in other parts of the organization to facilitate certain activities.  For example, I would allocate a day with administrators, so that an appreciation of filing, photocopying, incoming and outgoing post and other policies and procedures could be attained.  All of these are fundamentally important activities within the business.  I also arranged for time to be spent in other departments, so that an appreciation of the wider business activities was also attained.  If you do take the time in the early weeks to spend time to train and supervise appropriately, then you will find that your new colleague becomes an asset who you can allocate ‘real work’ too, which will help to develop them and ease the burden on you.  The problem with a lot of people, however is that they focus on the here and now and are too short sighted to see this!

It is also very important to make new people feel welcome and at ease in their new role.  Always remember that one day you had been in this position and that no matter how busy you are politeness and courtesy costs nothing.  As stressful as a work environment may be, there is absolutely no excuse for shouting or being rude to your colleagues.  I say this because in the past I have seen a number of members of staff almost reduced to tears as a result of being inappropriately spoken to by more senior members of staff.  This is totally unacceptable and in most cases was due to the fact that the member of staff had not been given adequate support and supervision from their mentor, which had resulted in a number of mistakes/issues occurring. New members of staff require time and if a mentor does not allocate sufficient time to train and supervise them then the consequences are likely to result in a demotivated member of staff who is not developing and likely to make mistakes. If this is the case an employer should question their selection of mentor or ask themselves if they have made provision to fulfill the role effectively with the mentor’s workload.

If you are currently acting as a mentor, I refer to the definition stated earlier and ask you to consider whether you are encouraging and supporting your colleague to help them manage their own learning in order to help them to develop skills to maximise their potential. Or, do you see them as a burden that has been thrust upon you, where you have no time to help them.  If it is the latter, then I suggest that you speak to your employer and see if they can find someone more suitable, as this is not fair on the person you are mentoring.

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and colleagues who you think would be interested

Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.

Built Environment Professions – Part 2 – Building a brighter future

Due to the decline in the amount of people choosing a career as a construction professional as well as the inevitable skills shortage that will ensue over the coming years, there is an argument for categorising certain building professional roles as ‘at risk’

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/

In my previous article I identified a number of quite alarming statistics that showed a 24% reduction in entrants onto undergraduate building related courses in the five years between 2007/08 and 2011/12. In addition, the number of enrolments onto Architecture, Building and Planning courses is much lower than the vast majority of other subject areas such medicine, sciences, business, social studies and many others.  I then went onto discuss a number of possibly reasons that may explain this, and emphasised the importance of addressing the decline in order to try to safeguard the future of the Construction Professions as we currently know them, in the UK. The main content of this article will therefore consider what can be done to encourage more entrants in to the Construction Professions. I appreciate that there are similar issues with recruitment at other levels of the construction industry, particularly some of the traditional trades (something I will tackle in a later article), however for the purposes of this article I want to focus on Construction professions.

1. Raise awareness of professional career opportunities with the built environment

As I mentioned in my previous article I regularly encounter Careers Advisors in Schools that have little to no knowledge of the range of career opportunities that are available within the built environment.  Careers Advisors are the people that interact with large groups of school kids and have the ability to influence their future career choice.  If we can raise the profile of built environment careers, particularly the relationship with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and educate Careers Advisors about these opportunities we then ‘have the ear’ of a much larger pool of potential future professionals.  It goes without saying that you cannot expect a young person to choose a career that they have never heard about!  We therefore need a national strategic approach to bring built environment careers into the classroom, targeting Careers Advisors as a focal point.

Source: http://www.realstreetstaffing.com/

2. Change the perception of Careers in Construction

Many young people I speak to think that a career in the construction industry only relates to wearing a hard hat, working on a muddy site, lifting heavy materials and primarily involving the physical construction of a building.  If this is the general perception of a career in the construction industry it is easy to understand why other subject areas may seem to be an attractive alternative choice for a young person.  Therefore most young people associate working in construction as becoming a bricklayer, carpenter, plasterer, plumber etc.  Whilst these are obvious career routes for which a person can enjoy and make a perfectly good living, there are many other professional roles that are available. Part of addressing this issue can be achieved by raising awareness of professional built environment careers as described in point 1 above, however more needs to be done to portray a professional career in the built environment for what it really is; ‘exciting, diverse and challenging which leads to good career prospects and a good salary’.

3. Encourage more females into Professional Construction Roles

Source: http://www.constructionweekonline.com/

The Guardian (online) published a recent article (21^st March 2014), entitled; ‘High-tech, multi-skilled construction industry needs more women’ (Link); Given the stereotype I have just described above it is interesting that the main image within the article is a female with a hard hat and safety goggles, standing in front of a half finished building! The article provides interesting reading and states;

‘Women are transforming the world of work. The number of women in the workforce has increased by more than 20% over the past 20 years, and today they make up nearly half of the workforce. More women than ever before are going to university and more are in vocational training. Women now account for 50% of all staff in financial services, 49% of all those working in the media, 46% all doctors, 27% of all police officers and 24% of all judges.

But not every industry is welcoming women into the workplace. As the latest Smith Institute report shows, construction remains largely a no-go area for women. Despite the fact that the sector is a major employer and is desperately short of skilled people, women only account for 11% of the workforce – and only 1% of the manual trades.

We need to attract this vast amount of ‘untapped’ female potential in order to address the disparity between the number of males and females within the construction industry. Clearly, encouraging more females into the Construction Industry provides a huge opportunity for the future of the Construction Professions.  Addressing points 1 and 2 above will help, however more needs to be done to promote these exciting careers to females who may not have contemplated this type of career before. A strategic targeted events programme, providing a ‘taster experience’ of different construction professional roles should be introduced to encourage more females into the construction industry, in addition to other events and marketing activities.

4. Government Support

Given the significant contribution made to the economy by the construction industry each year (circa 8% to 10% of GDP), the UK Government should be lobbied to provide support and assistance to safeguard the industry for future generations. Due to the decline of the amount of people choosing a career as a construction professional as well as the inevitable skills shortage that will ensue over the coming years, there is an argument for categorising certain building professional roles as ‘at risk’.  This should then attract funding to those identified careers to encourage more people into the professions and could take the form of grants or subsidies to help support tuition fees, funding of targeted marketing campaigns, funding of education programmes in Schools and Colleges and numerous other initiative.

The above represents a number of suggestions of how we can address the current decline in the numbers of people, particularly young people choosing a career as a construction professional. The suggestions are far from exhaustive and will hopefully act as a starting point and generate debate on how we can react to the problem in order to safeguard the future of the Construction Professions.  Ignoring the problem really in not an option!

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and colleagues who you think would be interested

Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.

Built Environment Professions – Part 1 – An uncertain future?

In the vast majority of cases school children have very little knowledge of careers or opportunities that are available within the built environment and in most cases have never heard let alone understand professions such as Building Surveyors, Architectural Technologist, Construction Managers, Building Services Engineers and the like

Source: http://www.accessaudits.com.au/

Working as a professional within the built environment provides an exciting, diverse and challenging career that in most cases leads to good career prospects and a good salary.  Evolving technologies, innovation and ever changing regulations require the modern construction professional to be knowledgeable, adaptable, and objective to meet the challenges of the future.  All in all working as a built environment professional offers so much diversity that there is a career available for almost anybody who wants one.  Despite all of these positive attributes, recent statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that student enrolment in undergraduate Architecture, Building and Planning courses are in decline:

The table above shows the relatively small number of enrolments onto Architecture, Building and Planning courses compared to the vast majority of other subject areas. These statistics relate to full time undergraduate enrolment only.  The issue of part time undergraduate and post graduate enrolment are articles in their own right and something I will discuss in later postings.  For the purposes of this article I therefore want to focus on full time undergraduate enrolment.  The decline in entrants onto building related disciplines is even more evident if we isolate these from Architecture and Planning disciplines.  The table below shows a 24% reduction in entrants onto building related courses in the five years between 2007/08 and 2011/12, which is particularly worrying.

The HESA statistics above highlight two primary questions: 1. Why are Architecture, Building & Planning courses deemed to be a less attractive option compared to other subject areas; and; 2. Why are numbers of student enrolments on Building related courses in decline? I will attempt to answer these questions in a moment, however, to compound the issue it is also worth noting that UCAS have indicated that the 18 year old cohort is set to fall by circa 10% by 2020.  So not only are numbers currently declining for Architecture, Building and Planning courses but there will be a steady decline in 18 year olds applying for courses generally over the next five years, resulting in further pressure on recruitment for these courses.

18 year old cohort set to fall 10% or so by 2020

1. Why are Architecture, Building & Planning courses deemed to be a less attractive option compared to other subject areas;

As part of my role at Coventry University I am Admissions Tutor as well as lead for recruitment and outreach activities in my department.  Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to visit a number of local Schools and Colleges, where I provide careers advice and generally try to raise awareness of built environment professions.  Sadly, in the vast majority of cases school children have very little knowledge of careers or opportunities that are available within the built environment and in most cases have never heard let alone understand professions such as Building Surveyors, Architectural Technologists, Construction Managers, Building Services Engineers and the like. Quantity Surveying and Civil Engineering professions are often recognized, but not fully understood.  The only built environment career that is generally recognized is the role of the Architect. 

During my outreach visits I also take the opportunity to speak to careers advisors and worryingly in most cases the vast majority have as much knowledge of built environment careers as the school students themselves!  Careers advice in schools tends to focus on traditional career paths in computing, legal professions, medical professions, sciences etc, depending on the focus of the school.  When I speak to school students about the built environment they often think purely in terms of the practical trades such as bricklaying, carpentry, plumbing etc, and have no concept of professional roles.  I explain to them that there is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing a construction trade as a career, however, the opportunities for them are much wider and I then go onto explain the difference between a trade career and a professional career.  The situation is not so bad in Higher Education Colleges, however this is due to the fact that most of the Colleges I visit offer specific Built Environment courses.

Clearly, lack of awareness of built environment professions, particularly in schools, is a real issue because how can we expect someone to select a professional built environment career if they have never heard of them in the first place?  My visits to Schools and Colleges really just scratch the surface, but highlights what I think is a significant contributing factor to why Building & Planning courses in particular are deemed to be a less attractive option compared to other subject areas.

Also, I suspect the recent recession and all of the negative publicity, particularly around the construction industry that ensued, would not have given a great deal of confidence for those looking at a career in the industry. Historically the construction industry has always mirrored the UK economy and has been subject to peaks and troughs as the economy has dipped into recession and eventually recovered. When the economy bounces back the construction industry bounces back strongly and this in turn creates opportunity.  Even in times of recession there were still opportunities for built environment professionals and when the recovery starts to gather pace there will undoubtedly be a shortage of built environment professionals, due to high demand.

2. Why are numbers of student enrolments on Building related courses in decline?

Much of the answer to this question lies in the answer to the first question above in respect of the general lack of awareness of many built environment professions, as well as the impact of the economic downturn.  There are however other factors that could explain the reduction in student enrolments on Building related courses.

Most people will be aware of the significant changes to University funding over the last few years and in particular the significant increase in the amount a student is required to pay if they want to go to University.  In reality the cost of most undergraduate courses has not changed, what has changed is that the government no longer subsidise a large percentage of the fee (for the student) which they used too.  The outcome is that students are now faced with tuition fees of around £9,000 per year (fees vary between universities), resulting in an investment of between £24,000 and £27,000 for a three year course without even thinking about living costs and other expenses. Although a low interest loan can be sought to cover tuition fees, in addition to their degree, most graduating students will leave University with a large debt.  All of this has resulted in students thinking very carefully about the type of courses they will undertake or whether they will go to university at all.  Nowadays, apprenticeships and other vocational qualifications may be considered as an alternative to going to University to gain a career in the construction industry due to the high costs involved, although in most cases these routes will initially lead to trade careers as opposed to professional careers.

The UK construction industry is an extremely important sector within the UK economy, making a significant contribution to GDP.  For the future, we must ensure that we have a regular supply of knowledgeable, well educated and motivated people entering the construction industry at all levels and avoid the inevitable skills shortages that we often see when productivity progressively increases.  It is clear from the statistics above that less and less people are choosing to enter the industry, particularly in building related professions, which will inevitably impact on the progress of the construction industry and the wider economy as a whole. So what do we do about it? – This is something I will look at in my next post, where I will make a number of suggestions in respect of raising awareness/publicity of built environment professional careers, lobbying the government to support ‘at risk’ professions, encouraging a higher percentage of females into built environment careers, alternative modes of study and how Higher Education can influence the future of built environment professions.

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and colleagues who you think would be interested

Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.