Problem
Construction is big business in the UK making up about 8% of the economy, and there’s no sign of slowing down. The industry will add 67,000 new jobs between 2016-2024, therefore they need willing people to fill those positions. Unfortunately, the construction sector has what is considered an aging workforce, due to the number of employees who are aged above 60 increasing to more than any other age group. This is a huge cause for concern as many will retire taking their essential skills with them. And with the industry being so physically demanding it is not a possibility to push back the age of retirement. And now to add fuel to the fire the vacancies in the construction sector have hit a new all-time high again in September and topped 43,000 for the first time since 2001, when the records first began. It is evident there are several reasons why construction organizations need to make the roles more attractive as soon as possible.
FIX
For a long time, there has been a need to upskill the industry and to make the roles more attractive to people. A place to start would be to go into schools and talk about working in construction, highlighting the positives. There’s job satisfaction within the industry. It can be seen as a creative sector in many ways and the people who work within it are passionate about what they do. We need to be celebrating the positives to show how amazing it can be to be a part of construction.
Another idea is to create an obvious progression route within the job roles. Many people worry now about the possibility of getting stuck in a job with no development opportunities therefore it is important to showcase how far someone could go and build a career in construction.
Revamping your training method may attract new candidates, as the younger generation is a lot more tech-savvy and therefore more drawn to roles that incorporate this. It is a great way to modernize the way you are training your employees. It can also help to upskill the workforce.
Countless firms across the globe adopted a new way of working due to the pandemic and many have kept it this way, incorporating working from home as an option for their staff. Some chose to operate a hybrid system giving the option to split their time via home and the office. This additional flexibility is attractive to a number of people as it allows for a change of scenery, can boost motivation and improve concentration levels.
Similar to the last point making the working schedule more flexible can go a long way to attract the younger generation. Construction managers could introduce a new output-based model, which allows teams to schedule the work to suit them instead of turning up for a fixed number of hours each day set by their employer. This method can be adopted for site-based work if projects are broken down into tasks or sections. When employees are free to arrange their own work based on outputs rather than time, they are far more likely to embrace flexibility. This option may interest “Generation Z” as there is the choice to manage your time to better suit your life.
Support from the government is more crucial than ever if they want their building ambitions fulfilled. Now the Government needs to prioritize educational resources to make sure there is an increased provision of training at higher skill levels to improve the labour crisis.
Conclusion
The bottom line is construction workers are being flown to project sites on private jets because of the velocity of the issue. This cannot go on. A change needs to happen, and it needs to be sooner rather than later. Construction news reported that 224,900 extra workers are required by 2027 to fulfil expected construction aspirations. So, an improvement must be made to save the industry.
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