Tackling skills shortages through training

contractjournal.com newsletter: 10.11.05

Tackling skills shortages through training

Now that the dust has well and truly settled on the celebrations surrounding the London 2012 Olympic announcement, the UK construction industry is starting to realise the reality of the challenge ahead. With over £1.4bn being invested into building works alone, the resource and skills of the industry will be tested beyond measure. Here, Tony Hyde, managing director at contractor Thomas Vale, takes a look at the current skills shortages facing the region's construction industry and explains what the company is doing to meet these challenges head on.

Statistics surrounding skills shortages are embedded into the fabric of the UK construction industry. But while facts, figures and findings are pushed around the plate, what is being done to address the need for 7,000 new recruits per annum regionally, and the 84,000 nationally?

Providing the 'tools' for our existing workforce to train will allow us to guide and nurture their skills and guarantee a new breed of skilled craftspeople. As a Midlands based company we consider it our duty to tackle this challenge head on, and have invested £1m in an industry training centre, based at our head office in Stourport. Hailed as the first of its kind, the centre is managed by our training company, Forum Training, and offers bespoke training and development to our staff, supply chains, and those in the industry locally, in an effort to ensure that all recruits are trained to a top class standard.

Offering CSCS training and construction based NVQs, this Midlands Centre of Excellence has marked a significant change for the regional construction industry.

But what use is training provision, if the public at large does not recognise the construction industry as an attractive career choice?

The industry must spread its net far wider, enticing different parts of the population into a career in construction. It is only by attracting people to the industry that we can equip them with the skills it urgently requires. School leavers continue to be guided towards what are believed to be more attractive industries by advisors with a lack of understanding of the opportunities available in construction – and, despite many companies' best efforts, the remaining image of 'cowboy contractors' is doing little to help.

It is images such as this that continue to put off valuable sources of skilled labour – and local women are no exception. Despite making up 48% of the total UK workforce, staggeringly female recruits only make up 1% of the construction workforce at operative level. We continue to take steps to change this. In 2004 we, in association with our training company, Forum Training, launched the Women's Skills Initiative offering a unique opportunity for women to break in to the industry. Based at a major social housing project in Birmingham and Worcester, trainees were engaged in hands on experience refurbishing kitchens and bathrooms, undertaking practical onsite training and health and safety assessments. Every last woman that went through the programme achieved an NVQ in kitchen and bathroom fitting, and all are now in full time employment either with Thomas Vale or our supply chain. Women have a great deal to offer to the construction industry in terms of skill, communication, health and safety awareness and an overall pride in their work. By re-education, training and guidance, we hope to present a career in construction as an attractive option.

In line with this, the industry must do more to nurture talent at a local level. Engaging local communities enhances job performance and of course, increases employment in the area. Our flagship £3.5m community project in Shard End, Birmingham, under the Birmingham Construction Partnership, provides real proof of this. 49 local trainees were invited to take an active role in the project, undertaking work experience in a variety of trades. Working alongside Birmingham City Council and the Prince's Trust, the trainees were involved in building design and will continue to train in specialist skills – skills which are much sought after in the industry's current climate.

It is more important now than ever that a new generation of well-trained, highly skilled people is developed and retained. In recent years the regional construction industry has taken great strides forward, but without the necessary talent and skills coming in to the industry, we will all be forced to take one significant step back.

To invest in education and training is, in reality, to invest in our future. The talent and ability is out there, and I would urge more regional companies to follow our lead in putting training at the head of their agenda.