Build UK, along with
other leading industry trade bodies, have joined forces to build a picture of
those occupations that are in greatest demand.
A survey, which will
go to more than 20,000 companies nationwide, asks respondents to indicate which
roles they are finding difficult to recruit for now, and which ones they expect
to be challenging post-Brexit.
In order to ensure
that the survey has as wide reach as possible, companies that are not members
are also invited to
take part in the survey.
The evidence
uncovered from this survey will be used to identify where industry should be
focussing its efforts to recruit new workers. It will also be used to engage
with the Government and Migration Advisory Committee to support decision-making
on appropriate migration for workers from the EU and rest of the world.
Suzannah Nichol MBE,
Chief Executive at Build UK said: “We recognise that more needs to be done in
recruiting, training and retaining the next generation of home-grown talent to
meet our industry’s skills needs. However, to deliver the homes, hospitals, roads
and rail projects underway and those in the pipeline, the industry also must
have the ability to continue to recruit skills at all levels from outside of
the UK. This is our opportunity to collectively demonstrate to Government
the extent of those skills needs and create a system that works for everyone.”
Mark Reynolds, Mace
Chief Executive and chair of the Construction Leadership Council skills
workstream, said the sector will need to recruit hundreds of thousands of new
workers over the coming years.
"We want to
ensure that this recruitment is supported with targeted actions by industry and
Government," he added. "This first step in achieving this is the
development of a detailed picture of those occupations where we face the
biggest challenge.
“I welcome the fact
that the industry is unifying to develop this research, and encourage all
companies from across the industry to take part in the survey.”
Hannah Vickers,
Chief Executive of the Association for Consultancy & Engineering said:
“With all the uncertainty around Brexit and its impact on skills, we need to
make sure that our industry has a sound evidence base from which to argue,
which is why I will be asking all our members to participate in the survey.
"We will need
to come together in one voice and collectively make the case for construction
to Government, ensuring that any post-Brexit agreement secures the skills our
sector needs now and into the future.”
If you have not
already done so, please ensure that you complete the survey.
