This year so far hasn’t been a strong one for the construction industry and with the Beast from the East hitting the UK hard it meant that growth was very limited. With construction output falling heavily in March it looked to be a tough year ahead to catch up.
However, April saw the construction bounce back for the fall caused by the Beast from the East in February and March. The figures from April were much better than expected and this has given the industry a boost going into the summer months.
Although it was a boost, figures still show that the construction industry isn’t meeting expectations. Due to a number of factors such as the Beast from the East, it has meant that construction work is slowing up and may need a few months to get back up to expectations. However, one area that is still picking away at the construction industry is the skills shortage.
The skills shortage has played a big factor within the up and down construction industry in previous years and it is still being reported that more and more workers are needed across all trades. The skills shortage is hitting the UK and Ireland hard and workers in trades such as Plastering, Bricklaying and many more are needed more than ever. You can read about the skills shortage in Ireland here: www.irishtimes.com/business/construction/construction-worker-shortage-putting-housing-and-infrastructure-projects-at-risk-1.3486207
Here is a piece taken from The Guardian about the skills shortage and how ‘dead-end’ courses are affecting people getting into the industry:
“The shortage of construction skills is the worst ever recorded, with the Construction Industry Training Board reporting a 31,600 shortfall of new skilled workers a year. Without them, there is no hope of building the government’s target of 300,000 new homes. Plenty want to learn those skills, which would lead to well-paid jobs. Yet a rising number of young people – more than 203,400 last year – are taking useless, “dead end” construction courses that leave them with no NVQ and no job.”
At Able Skills, we pride ourselves in teaching our students the right way and making them industry ready for when they go out to work on-site in their chosen trade. Offering courses in all trades means we are getting lots of students through their NVQs that will help them gain work on-site.
From Electrician Courses right through to Carpentry Courses, we see lots of students have success stories and do fantastic things in the industry, see some of our student stories here.
If you see the skills shortage as a chance to get into the industry and start a new career, no matter what age we have the course for you. Please contact us on 01322 280 202 for more information on how to get onto our courses.
Credit: (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/09/young-people-cheated-skills-jobs-brexit-education, https://news.sky.com/story/construction-rebounds-after-weather-freeze-11355622)