A survey of Scotland’s construction industry from late last year indicates that there is an increasing gap between the demand for building projects and the availability of those trained to carry out the work.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found that two-thirds of Scottish companies were having trouble sourcing the labour they needed to keep up with the expected growth in business that the year ahead will bring.
Sarah Speirs, the director of RICS Scotland, said that the growth will not be sustainable if companies continue to struggle to narrow the skills gap[1].
She commented: “Currently, while we know that there is a serious shortage of skills, we don’t yet know why we have seen such a dramatic drop in the labour market over the past five years… A real focus on attracting more young people into the industry is critical alongside an expansion of apprenticeship opportunities.”
A mixed outlook
RICS believes that the worldwide financial crisis has had a significant impact on the industry, with many people leaving construction jobs in search of more secure lines of work and not being replaced in time for the reported upturn.
Other data indicates some mixed outlooks for the Scottish construction industry. The ONS’ report of ‘record’ output in the first half of 2015[2] is contrasted by the Scottish Construction Monitor’s finding that confidence within the industry for the next 12 months during the fourth quarter was lower than it had been all year[3].
This all points to a decidedly pessimistic picture for the Scottish construction industry – especially as red flags went up about an under-staffed industry as far back as two years ago. In 2013, Scotland’s director of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), Graeme Ogilvy, warned of the upcoming retirement ages of a large part of the workforce[4] – with “almost one in five” due to retire in the next five to ten years.
A positive future
With a member of the Scottish Shadow Cabinet recently claiming that the country is in need of 150,000 engineers by 2022[5] – with the priority on homebuilding – is there anything that can be done to inject some new blood into the construction industry?
Following its collaboration with the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) on the UK Futures programme, Edinburgh Napier University has rolled out a skills ‘hub’ that showcases the need for construction companies to put aside their competitiveness and work together to attract potential talent.
The UKCES also found that, of the whole of the UK, Scottish employers are the ones most likely to be invested in training new employees – 65% of employers say that they are currently enrolling candidates in schemes to get them up to scratch[6].
Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2016 has also been moved from its usual calendar spot to take place in late February. As well as avoiding exams, it also falls before the financial year ends, which could give employers the means to consider committing to a budget for apprenticeships in the next one.
By taking this and other proactive measures, employers could soon start to see the benefits of investing in a new generation of workers to take on the challenges of the construction industry sooner rather than later.