Brompton Academy

Construction

Sector Outlook Although nearly two million people are employed in the construction industry, the sector has suffered during the recession. The latest information from the industry is that things are beginning to look positive for the future. The forecasts show that additionally some 240,000 new jobs will be needed over the next five years. These oppor tunities will be fuelled by growth in leisure, housing and large infrastructure projects. According to government figures the number of young people working in construction has halved since 2008. But with the expected economic upturn, the government is pushing for more apprenticeships for young people in the sector. If you are prepared to build upon your qualifications, you will have a better chance of gaining employment. At present only two out of every five employees work in a skilled trade and a high number of younger workers have failed to complete their apprenticeship programmes. As a result more than 20% of all vacancies are hard to fill because employers cannot find suitably qualified workers. Despite the downturn in the industry, this trend means that jobs are available if you are prepared to offer employers what they want. What’s more only about 1% of trade workers are female and the industry is keen to recruit more women. As well as achieving the required level of skill, you might want to consider expanding your skill set. The construction industry is increasingly making greater use of prefabricated components, which means general labourers have a better chance of finding work if they can offer a range of skills. Other trends see a focus on sustainability and environmental issues, which could lead to new ways of working and a growing demand for specialist job roles. You could consider exploring career opportunities that have you haven’t previously considered such as a ‘green’ engineer or a wind turbine technician. At degree level, competition for candidates remains fierce for careers such as architecture and quantity surveying but overall there is a shor tage of graduates in construction, par ticularly for managerial positions. Large companies such as Amey UK, Balfour Beatty, Costain, Laing O’Rourke, Skansa, Vinci UK and Willmot Dixon are wor th contacting especially if you are interested in a graduate training scheme. Elsewhere, the industry is dominated by small to medium-sized enterprises and small business owners. Contact companies in your local area as it might be the case that some can offer you apprenticeship training.