CITB urges firms to address construction skills shortage
THE Construction Industry Training Board has called on construction firms in the Midlands to address their skills gap now in order to avoid future problems.
The call comes on the back of the results from a survey carried out by recruiter Hays Construction which found that 50% of the region’s construction firms have taken no long term action to tackle the skills shortage within their existing workforce.
Despite rising demand for skilled workers and new recruits, results from 116 firms showed that over the last year:
• Only 37% increased their training budget in response to immediate skill shortages
• Fewer than 30% allowed employees study leave for external training
• Just 20% of respondents encouraged job sharing or shadowing to share knowledge in the organisation
However, the region still came out on top compared to other areas when it came to recruiting apprentices, with half of those surveyed actively doing so.
According to recent CITB research, around 13,250 additional construction workers will be needed across the Midlands in the next five years. Employers are being urged to do more to upskill and train to be able to meet future demand.
The board said private housing projects such as the £65m 350-home development in Stafford and the £52m apartment development in Shrewsbury would create jobs. Growth is also expected as a result of the Government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme.
CITB’s Sector Strategy Manager for the Midlands, Catherine Bullough, said: “Figures from our Construction Skills Network (CSN) show that projects over the next five years will demand thousands of construction recruits across the Midlands. We’re always looking at ways to encourage both new recruits and the retraining of past employees but we need help from local construction firms to make this happen.
“Hays’ results show progress is being made but it also illustrates how important it is for all of us involved in the construction industry to help ourselves. We are calling on employers to do more to tackle immediate skills gaps but also to work with us to attract talent into our industry. It’s vital that construction is promoted more widely in schools to attract the top talent that we need to meet the challenges of the future.
“Together we are ideally placed to inspire and recruit the next generation of industry recruits and showcase construction as an attractive career choice.”
