Wanted: 348,000 recruits by 2010

The UK construction industry will need 87,000 new recruits every year until the end of the decade if it is to meet the anticipated surge in workload, according to a detailed survey by ConstructionSkills.

The ConstructionSkills Network Report 2006 reveals that during the period to 2010, the biggest average annual requirement on site is going to be for wood trades (11,000) and electricians (8,100). Two other priorities are the need for managers (10,500 a year) and clerical capabilities (8,600).

The survey also concludes that in order to achieve its target of a fully qualified workforce by 2010, it needs to qualify 100,000 workers each year to NVQ2 standard.

The good news is that the construction industry will continue to experience strong growth, with output expected to rise by 13% by 2010. Geographically, there will be a shift in growth from the North to the South and East – one driver behind this being a surge of large £100m-plus projects.

With a total value running to £36bn, these include: the Kings Cross redevelopments; port projects at Shellhaven, Felixstowe and Harwich; the East London Line extension; and the Victoria Station redevelopment. On top of these come the Olympics and Thames Gateway construction programmes.

Looking at the picture in the regions, the report sees the highest rate of employment growth coming in the East of England (rising 19% by 2010) followed by the South East of England (14%), Northern Ireland (13%) and Wales (12%).

Contrary to the growing myth, the indications at this stage are that delivering the Olympics programme will not impact on the successful completion of other construction projects in the surrounding area of London.

Although the Olympics programme has become high-profile – valued at around £2.5bn over the next seven years – the report estimates that the Olympics programme will account for only 0.2% of the UK’s total construction workforce between now and 2010.

Sheila Hoile, CITB-ConstructionSkills’ skills strategy director, said: “The Construction Skills Network provides the construction industry with its first truly authoritative basis for planning recruitment strategies, education and training mechanisms and funding delivery.

“For contractors and consultants, the data can be used to inform what type of building they should be designing and constructing for the client, and how best to avoid high labour costs. And it gives the government the tools to decide where it needs to focus policies and funding to avoid skills shortage and wage inflation.”