Construction fails to retain skilled workers

Further questions have been raised about the construction industry's ability to retain skilled plant operators after figures from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) revealed that under half of those obtaining a CTA card in the past two years were renewals.

In 2001, 11,675 CTA cards were issued to existing card holders, just 46% of the total issued that year of 25,352. In 2002 the total number of renewals increased to 13,296 but as a proportion of total cards issued this fell to 41%.

If this trend continues throughout the five-year renewal period for CTA card holders it suggests that fewer than half of the 150,000 current holders will continue to operate plant in the construction industry when their cards expire.

The figures also come against a backdrop of significant variations in the total number of CTA cards issued each year.

There was a near 30% increase in the number of CTA cards issued in 2002 compared to 2001.

However, the 2002 figure of over 32,500 CTA cards was still some 13,000 short of the number of cards issued in 2000, when the total exceeded 45,000.

The CITB attributed the downturn in 2001 to the cyclical nature of CTA renewals, with the cards covering popular categories of plant not falling due.

It also added that the biggest factor behind the increase in 2002 was the growth in the number of new cards awarded. This rose from 12,691 to 18,088, a leap of 43%.

The CITB said this was the result of the growing insistence on accreditation for plant operators, with those who had let their cards lapse coming back into the scheme.