Tackling the skills crisis in construction
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) andthe House Builders Association, welcome the Governments announcement to develop an action plan to tackle the skills crisis.
The Government has commissioned a review to look at the skills crisis and its impact on the construction industry and, more specifically, the house building sector. Mark Farmer, chief executive of Cast Management Consultants, and the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) will lead the review and are expected to report their finding by March 2016.
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) and its house building division, the House Builders Association, welcome the Government’s announcement to develop an action plan to tackle the skills crisis. Although the perception of economic recovery is now more concrete, the construction industry has suffered a haemorrhage of experienced workers between 2007 and 2015 due to either redundancies or retirement. In addition, with approximately 400,000 construction workers set to retire by 2025, the industry needs to recruit at least 40,280 new workers each year to keep pace with the current work demand.
Rico Wojtulewicz, policy advisor to the House Builders Association (HBA), said: “We welcome a more strategic approach to tackling the construction skills crisis, particularly how it affects house building. Our BIM in Schools programme uses virtual reality that not only gives a practical insight into part of the construction process but also broadens schools’ perceptions of the opportunities available in construction. We look forward to sharing our experience as part of the review process."
