A director at a Suffolk construction company says changing young people’s perception of the industry is crucial to bridging the industry’s skills gap.
Simon Hubert, Contracts Director at Ipswich-based SEH French, said the skills gap was a ‘big concern’ for the industry and needs short and long-term solutions to find a solution.
He said: “The sector’s workforce dilemma was initially caused by the financial crash in 2008 and has never fully recovered.
“There was a huge downturn in work and lots of people left the industry.
“There were people leaving the sector to move elsewhere, while others left through normal retirement, but the industry wasn’t replacing them at the rate we needed to.
“There’s no doubt there’s an ongoing skills gap and a resources gap in the industry. There’s simply not enough people in the industry and not enough skilled labour.
“When you couple that with the large-scale infrastructure projects being built in this region, but also reflected across the country, there’s a big need for skilled staff.
“It’s been a big concern across the country for a number of years.”
Simon is a huge advocate of letting more young people know the opportunities in construction, after joining the sector straight out of college himself.
“The industry has been seen for a long time as something people fall into rather than actively chase,” he said.
“It has often been viewed as not a particularly aspirational career path but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Funnily enough, I am one of the people that fell into it myself.
“After A-levels I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I got a call from a friend who was working on a site and started working in groundwork and civil engineering.
“I later did a part-time degree course and worked in quantity surveying and contracts management, and I’m now a director.
“I am a good example of the opportunities in the industry for young people and how you can develop a good career working your way up.”
Simon said education would be a key driver for closing the skills gap, as well as changing people’s perceptions of the sector.
He said: “Some people still just think of construction as carpenters, groundworkers, labourers but there are lots of other roles in and out of the site and office.
“We have architects, cost consultants, quantity surveyors, a whole host of roles across a broad range of areas.
“We need to encourage earlier work experience and let young people know about the opportunities available.
“We need to show young people it can be a career you choose, rather than fall into – it’s not just something you take up when there’s nothing else around.
“School children should know going to university is not the only way to get a good career and to get ahead.
“It will be a case of getting them interested in a career in construction sooner, before they sit their GCSEs, getting it in their mind there are opportunities out there for them.
“I think there needs to be a bigger push on that, but it’s good that it’s becoming more commonplace.
“It’s all good saying it however, the industry needs to reshape the education system and people need to buy into that.”
Simon said he broadly welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s plans to teach technical subjects to post-14 pupils, but said it needed to be implemented correctly.
“It was good to hear Andy Burnham’s plans to set up technical subjects for post-14 pupils but the proof really will be in the pudding,” he said.
“It’s something that won’t turn the situation around overnight – it could help in the long run but is not a short-term answer.
“They talk about this coming about in 2028, which is the best part of two years away.
“The sooner it gets introduced and funded the better.
“It is nice that vocational education may one day have parity with academic studies.”
