Building a better future for the construction industry
2 min read
Commenting on the newly released Chartered Institute of Building report on the effect of migration on UK construction, Labour MP Steve Rotheram calls for a greater focus on training to fill the skills gap as the sector expands.
In their Construction Skills Forecast the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) predict that the industry will need over 200,000 new entrants over the life of the next parliament.
This is in-part to cope with political priorities such as those on; housebuilding and infrastructure improvements, but also to deal with an ageing workforce - with many workers nearing retirement age.
That means an average of 40,000 construction workers will need to be trained each year and every year. To put this into context, in the last financial year just over 8,000 individuals completed construction apprenticeships.
Despite the right-wing press coverage of immigration issues, construction is a sector that is transient in nature and UK workers have travelled around the globe plying their trade since the days of the guilds. If there are skills shortages in our country then it is obvious that additional labour will be needed to help plug the gap. That is why we must train more people to be in the best position possible to take up the opportunities as the sector expands, and upskill those in the industry to take advantage of new technologies.
During my career on Britain’s building sites, I worked alongside employees from many different countries. The migrant labour I worked with on Merseyside was diligent and hardworking, just as the Scousers, Scots and Geordies that I met working abroad were. The tensions that have arisen are primarily caused when unscrupulous bosses have undercut British workers by paying them less than the going rate for the job. There needs to be a level playing field to stop such practices and prevent tensions escalating. By investing in construction and improving its image through multi-year level 3 apprenticeships, enforcing minimum wage laws and cutting out exploitative practices, we will ease the tensions associated with migrant workers - and actually use their skills to enhance the lives of millions of people through the product of their services.
Read more about the report and its findings,
here.
PoliticsHome Newsletters
Get the inside track on what MPs and Peers are talking about. Sign up to The House's morning email for the latest insight and reaction from Parliamentarians, policy-makers and organisations.
