The British construction industry is responsible for £81 billion of outputs (£203 billion turnover) every year, nearly 9% of gross domestic product (GDP), three times that of agriculture and larger than any single manufacturing industry. It is the country’s largest employer and exporter, accounting for half the UK’s total investment and employing around 2.5 million people. Construction output is set to rise, requiring 88,000 new skilled tradesmen and women every year over the next three years, and has a target of a fully qualified workforce by 2010.
There are 175,000 construction firms in the UK (95% of which employ fewer than ten people), 23,500 professional practices employing 450,000 people, and significant skills gaps. Skills analysis reveals a significant shortage in managerial positions. Although the highest skills requirement is for workers with wood trade skills, there is also demand for managers, clerical staff, architects, engineers, and other design and technical professionals. In total, the number of white-collar workers the industry needs to recruit every year is forecast to be over 36,000. Another major concern is a lack of young entrants into an ageing workforce.
Construction growth is expected to shift from the north to the south and east, driven by new builds that include the King’s Cross redevelopment, ports projects at Shellhaven, Felixstowe and Harwich, the East London Line extension, Victoria Station redevelopment, and the Olympics and Thames Gateway construction programmes.
Building trades in the Services
Apart from a handful of people employed in units to carry out minor carpentry and repair jobs, and Army pioneers who have basic building skills, all three Services rely on the Royal Engineers for construction. Non-commissioned ranks will have completed anything from NVQs at level 2 in basic training and level 3 after higher training, to an Apprenticeship. Trades vary from surveyor to plant operator, and from draughtsman to bricklayer.
Careers
Craftsmen and women are the people who actually make things. Some major skills in which they are trained include:
- Electrical installation and maintenance
- Plumbing
- Bricklaying
- Plastering
- Woodworking
- Gas installation and maintenance.
We will now look at each of these in turn.
Plumbing
Plumbers install central heating systems, controls and pipework; sanitary systems; drainage systems; guttering and rainwater systems. Heating systems may be powered using electricity, gas, oil or solid fuel. Sometimes refrigeration and water purification systems are also fitted. Maintenance work includes routine servicing and emergency repairs. Repair work involves finding faults, replacing or repairing damaged parts, carrying out tests and making sure everything works properly. A range of hand and power tools are used to cut, bend and join metal and plastic pipes.
There are approximately 28,000 plumbers in the UK. Most work directly for a plumbing or maintenance firm, while some, particularly in the domestic sector, are self-employed. Plumbers work in a team or alone, and, on domestic repair and maintenance, they tend to deal directly with clients. SummitSkills Limited is the sector skills council for the electrotechnical, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, refrigeration and plumbing industries.
Training
Many of these trades are learnt on the job, but the construction industry has training schemes that combine working and education to produce qualifications that the individual can build up over time to develop expertise in a particular area. While one person might start by learning the basics of a trade, and go on to become an expert in a particular part of it, another might build a portfolio in a number of skills to qualify them for supervisory and then general management.
ConstructionSkills is the sector skills council for many building trades. Its National Construction College is a network of colleges training and assessing construction skills throughout the UK. It is increasingly becoming necessary to hold registration or certification of competence and/or training in particular aspects of building skills to obtain employment in the industry.
The industry has its own vocational qualifications, Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships, and a construction apprentice scheme for the younger entrant. Ambitious people can start by gaining vocational qualifications in any of these trades while working as a craftsman or woman, develop their skills through technical training, perhaps gaining certificates or diplomas, eventually becoming fully professionally qualified, with a degree.
Contact details
Joint Industry Board, Kingswood House, 47/51 Sidcup Hill, Sidcup, Kent DA14 6HP Tel: 020 8302 0031 Website: www.jib.org.uk
Plumbing, bricklaying, plastering, woodworking
ConstructionSkills, Bircham Newton, Kings Lynn, Norfolk PE31 6RH Tel: 01485 577577 Website: www.constructionskills.net
Plumbing
SummitSkills Limited, Vega House, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes MK15 0DF Tel: 01908 303960 Website: www.summitskills.org.uk
