A report published by the Construction Industry Training Board [1] (CITB) on Wednesday 18th of January 2023 is raising morale within the industry as it predicts that, despite the deep economic uncertainty resonating around the UK at present, construction is an area of significant expected growth, and to satisfy this demand, up to 225,000 extra workers will be required by 2027. This equates to an extra 44,980 people each year.

This growth is expected to impact every region of the United Kingdom, including Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with 2024 being when the confidence to forge ahead with long term plans is forecast to be stabilised. Until such time, preparing, building and training a suitably skilled workforce will be essential in order to meet the demand head on as it emerges.

Key Growth Sectors

The key sectors where demand is most likely to emerge are:

1) Satisfying the need for more private housing. We believe that this is an area where our Modular Space team will see growth as modular constructions will become more prevalent due to the need to meet carbon reduction targets, create financial savings and deliver high quality builds in greatly reduced timescales.

2) Infrastructure. The government has set challenging targets for 5G infrastructure to cover the entirety of the country by 2028, and its deployment is well underway. Our Comms Space team anticipates an increased demand for specialist deployments to support the construction of appropriate infrastructure in meeting this target.

3) Repair and Maintenance. Following the Grenfell Tower fire, increased scrutiny is being placed upon the safety of existing buildings, both commercial and residential. This includes the review of protocols for safe evacuation in the event of an emergency. Where these are found to be lacking, rectification work is required as a priority to prevent such a disaster from occurring again. With more people working from home or on hybrid working patterns, the likelihood of catastrophe is magnified, particularly in tall office blocks or residential flats where maximum occupation could affect safe egress. Our People Space team stand ready to support any developments and maintenance contracts with the supply of skilled and experienced construction and project delivery personnel.

Forecasts and Figures

The CITB report estimates that if the projected growth is achieved, there will be 2.67 million construction workers in the industry by 2027, which would be a record, exceeding the previous high of 2.58 million seen in Q3 2008 [2].

What remains disappointing is the lack of gender diversity within the industry, with 85% of the construction workforce at the end of 2021 being male. With this report projecting significant growth across this industry, this could present an opportunity to encourage more women into roles in construction. This lack of diversity is recognised in the report, with the CITB Chief Executive Tim Balcon stating that the organisation will be seeking to attract and upskill a diverse range of recruits to prepare them for a rewarding career in construction. 

Planning For The Future

The construction industry has demonstrated its resilience on many occasions, most recently weathering the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring costs of raw materials, including wood and steel. The industry is steadfast and will continue to strive for improvements and growth over the coming years. 

In order to deliver this growth, it is essential that recruitment and training become top of the agenda for construction firms who wish to remain profitable. Having the right people in post at the right time will allow businesses to compete for contracts and to deliver high quality builds and retrofits to support business objectives and to meet government targets.

BuildSpace can support this goal by providing construction companies with access to innovative and forward thinking individuals on short term and permanent contracts. We can deliver immediate starts and help businesses to prepare to meet their emerging requirements. The talented individuals to whom we have access are all selected for their ability to hit the ground running and to deliver maximum benefit. 

To find out more about how we can help you to succeed in this competitive and exciting sector, please call us today. 

Resources

[1] https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.citb.co.uk%2Fabout-citb%2Fconstruction-industry-research-reports%2Fconstruction-skills-network-csn%2F&data=05%7C01%7Calex.c%40buildspaceuk.com%7C92e48cffcedc4ac5727508db003d2368%7C51269f409fc64a53a9d2cfd8ce73f170%7C0%7C0%7C638104034799891429%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2FNniZEKLgSm19T3D15RZ9Fu%2BGI8oeqQspdKAaMKIROk%3D&reserved=0 
[2] https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.statista.com%2Fstatistics%2F432509%2Fnumber-employees-construction-industry-united-kingdom%2F&data=05%7C01%7Calex.c%40buildspaceuk.com%7C92e48cffcedc4ac5727508db003d2368%7C51269f409fc64a53a9d2cfd8ce73f170%7C0%7C0%7C638104034799891429%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4Fif7BYRukGeyrn6oTjClkoQUf1kwP1v3RKHBlCuGjE%3D&reserved=0 
[3] https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.statista.com%2Fstatistics%2F1023964%2Femployment-in-the-uk-construction-industry-by-gender%2F&data=05%7C01%7Calex.c%40buildspaceuk.com%7C92e48cffcedc4ac5727508db003d2368%7C51269f409fc64a53a9d2cfd8ce73f170%7C0%7C0%7C638104034799891429%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=isxLF3C4BBmRKgEO7IipRYALw9%2F3oJp%2BSHMu6MRCqn8%3D&reserved=0