The impact on an individual of being trapped in a low-skilled life should not be underestimated. Yet it is easy to overlook and to assume someone else should have responsibility for helping disadvantaged people. The fact that there are many causes, usually complex and interlinked, is often a further disincentive to offering help.
But I have been recently heartened to hear examples of construction employers taking the initiative to help socially excluded people gain training and employment opportunities, and it strikes me that as one of the UK’s largest industries, we could do much more.
Hosting a site visit, offering taster courses or providing an entry level job place to one of the many schemes for disadvantaged people could be the first essential step towards giving someone a new lease of life.
We have to recognise that moving out of a low-skill trap is not easy and traditional employment structures are often not enough.
Financial barriers can have a real impact, particularly for people who have been unemployed for some time, or for single parents seeking to return to work after raising children.
The image of construction can be an issue for some disadvantaged groups, and the industry could be more appealing, receptive and prepared, particularly for female and ethnically diverse recruits.
However, for others, barriers to improving skills are greater and more work is needed in these areas. Existing projects to bring those affected by homelessness into the industry are currently being mapped onto a more coherent framework. Schemes to facilitate work experience and employment for young ex-offenders who have gained construction skills during their sentence also need to be better integrated.
ConstructionSkills and the Construction Youth Trust are working in partnership to provide the construction industry with the opportunity to support a wide range of initiatives. I would urge all employers, regardless of size, sector or discipline, to consider the role they could play.
Sir Michael Latham
President – Construction Youth Trust
Chairman – ConstructionSkills