NEW BUILDS WILL SPARK JOBS BOOM
Huge drive to attract tradesmen
CONSTRUCTION staff will have to be recruited every 77 seconds in a mega jobs boom to meet the country’s demand for new homes, a report revealed.
Around 400,000 plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, quantity surveyors and other tradesmen will need to be taken on every year up to 2021, it was estimated.
This is because the industry is facing a skills “gulf ” and needs to recruit, according to James Bryce from consultancy firm Arcadis.
He said: “Underinvestment in the workforce has contributed to a reduction in UK productivity.
“Construction employment is down 15% on 2008 and, quite simply, if we don’t have the right people to build the homes and infrastructure we need, the UK is going to struggle to maintain its position in the global economy.
“We need to bring more new talent into the industry but construction will also need to look at those currently working in other industries and dramatically improve its efficiency.”
The UK needs to build around 250,000 new homes a year to meet the government’s target of creating a million houses by 2020.
Currently it is doing little over half of that. Critics say things need to change if the target is to be met. The failure is partly because the construction industry is yet to recover from the 2008 financial crash and a lack of skilled tradesmen in the UK.
This has caused house prices to sky rocket, especially in London and the south east.
Most of the workers will be taken on in the housing sector, said Arcadis, with the greatest need for carpenters and joiners.