Construction Industry

Construction is the UK’s biggest industry, responsible for £81 billion of outputs (£203 billion turnover) every year and up to 8% of the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP), which is three times the contribution of agriculture and makes it larger than any single manufacturing industry. The sector accounts for half the UK’s total investment, and employs around 2.4 million people in over 700 types of job.

Of late, the world has become a very different place: the global economy has slowed considerably and the UK economy, in turn, has suffered as a consequence. In common with other sectors, this has affected the construction industry. However, taking a more long-term view, construction output is set to rise, and ConstructionSkills (the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry) has said that an average of 50,000 construction workers will be required a year over the next four years, allowing for replacement as well as new jobs, in line with workforce turnover (most of this increase will take place from later this year onwards, as output begins to grow again). Looking to the future, construction growth is expected to shift from the north to the south and east.

The expectation had been that, by the second half of this year, the economy would start to expand once again. Indeed, things are already beginning to pick up in the construction sector, as one of the stories in this issue’s ‘Despatches’ pages illustrates. Now that potential house buyers are finding it easier (if only slightly) to access mortgage funding, developers are seeing demand begin to return. Finally, then, construction output seems to be on the rise once again.

Employment in the sector had been projected to increase by just over 74,000 from the end of last year onwards – an overall rise of 2.9% between 2009 and 2013. However, the workforce risks a serious skills shortfall due to its ageing nature. Despite 20% growth in the construction workforce since the early 1990s, the expansion has been uneven across different age groups. A major concern is the lack of young entrants into an ageing workforce, with numbers of older workers (aged 60 and over) in the industry having doubled in recent years, while the number of those aged 24 and under has fallen by 27%. While the increasing age profile is most pronounced in the manual workforce, professional trades such as architecture, mechanical and civil engineering could also lose 20% of their manpower to retirement in the next ten years, so the need for new, younger blood is pressing.

The majority of employees, for both contractors and professionals, work within medium-sized companies (10–250 employees). However, most companies in both categories are small, with 95% employing fewer than ten employees. Furthermore, many of those working within the sector are self-employed, representing over one-third of the available labour in the contracting sector. The under-representation of women and those from minority ethnic groups remains a priority issue for the industry. Training is also an issue: a third of trainees undertake level 1 training, but this does not meet the minimum requirements for new entrants.

THE SECTOR AT A GLANCE

2.4 million
number of people employed in the UK construction industry

175,000
of construction firms in the UK

100,000
target number of workers to be qualified to NVQ 2 standard each year

95%
percentage of construction firms employing fewer than ten people

50,000
average number of new recruits required every year over the next four years

Construction skills gained 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, including airfield and port repair and maintenance.

Some officers may have a first degree in an engineering discipline, on-the-job training and experience, postgraduate qualifications and/or membership of a civilian institution. Their experience of managing engineering projects may be particularly attractive to any future employer.

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.

The Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS)

Plant is a varied part of the construction industry – there are more than 66 different categories of plant in use. Construction plant operators work with the diverse machinery and equipment that is used on building sites, roadworks, railways and in forestry. The CPCS provides a single skills card for the plant sector of the construction industry; it covers many categories, including some very specialised equipment.

Most contractors will insist that plant operators are in possession of an up-to-date CPCS card before they allow them to work on site; it is the largest and most recognised card scheme for the construction plant industry. A valid card is proof of the operator’s skills and shows that they have passed the relevant health and safety tests.

After close communication with the industry, the scheme was updated to make it easier for plant employers to get their staff accredited in a more flexible way, without losing any of the quality that has always been associated with the CPCS. Accepted on all major construction sites, possession of the CPCS card is an excellent way to make sure that plant operators are qualified to work on any project.

For further information, guidance notes or to search for test centres, visit www.cskills.org/cpcs

Professional and management careers
Those employed at this level will usually be qualified as one of the following:

architect
architectural technologist
building control surveyor
building engineer
building services engineer
building surveyor
civil engineer
construction manager
facilities manager
general practice surveyor
geomatics surveyor
geospacial modeller
geotechnical engineer
hydrographic surveyor
landscape architect
land surveyor
project manager
quantity surveyor
structural engineer
town planner.

Qualifications
Entry to the industry at this level requires academic qualifications. These could include the following:

national certificate (NC), national diploma (ND), Scottish vocational qualification level 3 – college qualifications in construction-related subjects such as building studies or construction and the built environment, which roughly equate to A-level
higher national certificate (HNC) or higher national diploma (HND) –college or university qualifications; HNCs are usually taken part-time and HNDs full-time; both can take two or three years to complete; those qualified at this level usually start as advanced technicians or trainee managers, and work towards professional qualifications such as Incorporated Engineer
foundation degree – takes two years to complete full-time or three to four years part-time; provides entry to the third year of an honours degree
honours degree (BA, BSc, BEng or MEng) – usually in subjects like civil and structural engineering or construction management – takes three to four years to complete full-time, and five or more years part-time; graduates coming into the industry usually join a specially tailored training scheme leading to such professional qualifications as Chartered Engineer or Chartered Surveyor.

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme

The CSCS was set up to help the construction industry improve quality and reduce accidents. CSCS cards are increasingly demanded as proof of occupational competence by contractors, public and private clients and others. They cover hundreds of construction-related occupations so there is a card suitable for all roles (for example, ‘Craft and Operative’ cards include those for bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, formworkers and plasterers). Almost 1.6 million cards have been issued to date.

To find out more, visit: www.cscs.uk.com

Technical careers
Technicians generally make things happen by combining theory with practice. They can be qualified in any of the areas appropriate for professional and management careers, or in roles such as:

architectural technician
buyer
CAD operative
estimator
planner
plant technical support
roofing technician
site engineer
site inspector
site technical support.

To start training and/or do a college course requires four GCSEs, or equivalent, at grade C or above, with maths, English and the sciences being the preferred subjects. However, some people start training with A-levels and others qualify through craft skills (see below), often attending an FE college to gain, say, national qualifications. Still others enter with NCs/NDs or vocational qualifications.

Craft careers
Craftsmen and women are the people who actually make things. Some major jobs for which they are trained include:

demolition

– demolition operative
– scaffolder
– steel erector
– steeplejack

interiors

– ceiling fixer
– dry liner
– floor layer
– glazier
– painter and decorator
– partitioner
– plasterer
– plumber
– renderer
– wall and floor tiler

l plant

– plant hire controller
– plant mechanic
– plant operator (see the accompanying box on the CPCS)
– plant sales person

roofing

– built-up felt roofer
– lead sheeter
– liquid waterproofing systems operative
– mastic asphalter
– roof sheeter and cladder
– roof slater and tiler
– single ply roofer

trowel

– bricklayer
– construction operative
– stonemason

wood

– bench joiner

– carpenter and joiner
– formworker
– shop fitter
– wood machinist.

Many of these trades are learned on the job, but the construction industry has training schemes that combine working and education to produce qualifications. For example, a plasterer might start by learning the basics of plastering walls, but go on to become an expert in ornate ceiling and wall decoration in expensive houses. Other people might build a portfolio in a number of skills to qualify them for supervisory and then general management. Another example of current certification is the Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) – a card scheme introduced to prove the skills of plant operators (see box).

Building services covers the essential services that allow buildings to operate, while the heritage sector has a long history of building traditional-style structures and needs a wide range of craft skills that have to be kept alive for the future.

Training and qualifications

ConstructionSkills has developed the National Construction College – a network of colleges training and assessing construction skills throughout the UK. In addition, the industry has its own vocational qualifications and apprenticeships at advanced and apprentice level. Craftsmen/women can gain vocational qualifications while working, and develop their skills through technical training, perhaps gaining certificates or diplomas, eventually becoming fully professionally qualified, with a degree. Entry to these schemes requires reasonable maths and English ability, while more than 90 higher education and 400 further education colleges offer courses in construction and the built environment.

KEY CONTACTS

ConstructionSkills, Bircham Newton, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE31 6RH Tel: 0344 994 4400 Website: www.cskills.org Twitter: @CSkillsUK

CSCS Ltd, PO Box 114, Bircham Newton, King’s Lynn PE31 6XD Tel: 0844 576 8777 (to apply for a CSCS card) Website: www.cscs.uk.com Twitter: @CSCScard

City & Guilds, 1 Giltspur Street, London EC1A 9DD Tel: 0844 543 0000 Website: www.cityandguilds.com Twitter: @city_and_guilds