Ministers call for more action to solve skills crisis

Howard Chapman, Buildingtalk Editor. Ministers are looking for new solutions to the skills crisis in the construction industry. They want new ideas from across the industry – so this is your opportunity to respond. Plus CITB report on 230k new UK construction jobs in the next five years

Solutions to the skills crisis

Ministers have asked the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) to find new solutions to the skills crisis in the construction industry

The CLC was created in 2013 to work between industry and government to deliver actions supporting UK construction in building greater efficiency, skills and growth.

Mark Farmer, from real estate and construction consultancy Cast, will lead an advisory panel that will be appointed to provide additional expert input.

The CLC is inviting comments on the following:

• Evidence of how the construction labour model and recruitment practices impact on incentives for skills development in the sector (including in the supply chain) and on the introduction of more novel techniques such as off-site construction.
• What business models and other arrangements could better support skills and skills pipelines in the sector?
• What measures could improve wider incentives for capacity investment and the introduction of new ways of working?
• What are the barriers and enablers to greater use of off-site construction?
• How could the range of participants in the UK housing market be broadened, including through the better introduction of institutional funds?

Submissions on these topics can be made sent to [email protected] by 29^th February 2016 Link to more details

230,000 new construction jobs

Construction is back with strong investment in commercial and infrastructure and growth in private housing.

230,000 construction jobs are set to be created throughout the UK in the next five years, according to the latest Construction Skills Network report (PDF, 1.0 MB).

It includes a list of exciting projects such as the new nuclear build, Wylfa in Wales, the £200m X1 Media City in Salford Quays development, £500m redevelopment of Birmingham City Centre and the Queensferry Crossing in Scotland.