Construction industry

The UK construction industry consists of over 250,000 firms employing 2.2 million people (8% of the workforce) – 1.7 million in construction and contracting and 326,000 in professional services – in a multitude of roles. The sector is defined as embracing: construction materials and products; suppliers and producers; building services manufacturers, providers and installers; contractors, sub-contractors, professionals, advisers and construction clients; and those organisations that are relevant to the design, build, operation and refurbishment of buildings. The UK construction output is the second largest in the EU and contributes 8.2% of the nation’s gross value added (GVA); it is a £100 billion sector. UK designers, civil engineers, contractors, component and product manufacturers have a worldwide reputation for working overseas, providing high-tech solutions to environmental, transport and building projects.

The Olympic build will continue to be the most high-profile construction project in the UK between 2008 and 2012. Preparation for the Games is just one of a number of large construction programmes contributing to the continued growth of the industry (currently 3% per annum) over the next five years. The UK will see a peak in activity in 2011, followed by a year of little or no growth in 2012 with the completion of the Olympics build and related work. The underground Victoria Line, East London Line and Docklands Light Railway expansion work has been scheduled for completion to coincide with the Games, to ensure the London transport system is ready to deal with the anticipated increase in volume of visitors to the capital. Similarly, work on the widening of the M25 will be suspended in order to avoid disruption during 2012.

Other projects, such as Thameslink, Heathrow Terminal East and Crossrail, are also contributing strongly to the continued shift in construction growth from north to south. There is also considerable current office development in London, but this is expected to tail off beyond 2011. The sector creating the most significant growth in construction output is infrastructure, at 5.7% per year, which is continuing the resurgence begun last year. A number of large projects are now under way, including the cluster of activity in the south-east, the £3 billion Transport Investment Programme in Scotland and the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station. Northern Ireland also anticipates a significant level of investment in infrastructure over the next five years.

The number of construction workers in employment is likely to increase by around 212,000 by 2012. This translates into a need for an additional 88,000 new recruits a year to fulfil the requirement created by additional demand and to take account of industry leavers – an annual requirement of 21,000 in the four main trades (wood trades, bricklayers, painters and decorators, and plasterers), 15,000 specialists and civil engineers, 10,500 in management roles, and 8,000 in engineering, IT and professional occupations. Furthermore, an additional 9,000 employees will be required within the professional services sector. In real terms, by 2012, output growth across the construction industry will have risen by a third since the start of the decade.

The majority of employees for both contractors and professionals work within mid-sized (10–250 employees) companies. However, most companies in both categories are small, with 90% employing fewer than ten employees. Furthermore, 767,000 people working within the sector are self-employed, representing over a 38% of the available labour in the contracting sector. However, self-employment in the four main craft trades (wood trades, bricklaying, plastering, and painting and decorating) accounts for over 60% of the total employment. Manual workers represent 60% of the total workforce, with the remaining 40% non-manual workers, including managers and all those working in the professional services 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. Unemployment in the industry continues (at 3.6%) to be below the national average of 4.7%; 6% of employers currently employ, or have employed over the last six months, a worker who is not a UK citizen, although for London this increases to 22%. It is estimated that non-UK workers account for at least 6% of the workforce.

Construction in the Services

Apart from a few 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.

Officers will generally have a first degree in an engineering discipline, on-the-job training and experience, postgraduate qualifications and membership of civilian institutions. 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 a Modern Apprenticeship or, in the case of a Clerk of Works, an MSc. Trades vary from surveyor to plant operator, and from draughtsman to bricklayer.

Professional and management careers

People 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
• geospatial modeller
• geotechnical engineer
• hydrographic surveyor
• landscape architect
• land surveyor
• project manager
• quantity surveyor
• structural engineer
• town planner.

Entry to the industry at this level requires academic qualifications. These can be:

• National Certificate (NC), National Diploma (ND), Vocational A-level/Vocational Certificate of Education Advanced Level (AVCE) or General Scottish Vocational Qualification Level 3
• Higher National Certificate (HNC) or Higher National Diploma (HND)
• Foundation degree
• honours degree (BA, BSc, BEng or MEng) – usually in subjects like civil and structural engineering or construction management.

NC, ND, Vocational A-level and GSVQ Level 3 are college qualifications in construction-related subjects such as building studies or construction and the built environment, and roughly equate to A-level.

HNC and HND are, again, gained through college or university. HNCs are usually part-time with HNDs being full-time; both can take two or three years to complete. People qualified at this level usually start as advanced technicians or trainee managers and work towards professional qualifications such as Incorporated Engineer.

Foundation degrees take two years to complete full-time or three to four years part-time, and provide entry to the third year of honours degrees. The latter degrees take 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.

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 as a:

• 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; with maths, English and the sciences being the preferred subjects. However, some people start training with A-levels and others qualify through craft skills, often attending an FE college to gain national qualifications, Vocational A-Levels/AVCEs or GNVQs. 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 and other levels of the industry are trained include:

• interior and finishing

– ceiling fixer

– dry liner

– floor layer

– glazier

– painter and decorator

– partitioner

– plasterer

– plumber

– renderer

– wall and floor tiler

·plant

– plant hire controller

– plant mechanic

– plant operator

– plant sales person

·roofing

– built up felt roofer

– lead sheeter

– liquid waterproofing system operative

– mastic asphalter

– roof sheeter and cladder

– roof slater and tiler

– single ply roofer

·demolition

– demolition operative

– scaffolder

– steel erector

– steeplejack

·trowel

– bricklayer

– construction operative

– stonemason

·wood

– bench joiner

– carpenter and joiner

– formworker

– shop fitter

– wood machinist.

Many of these trades are learnt 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.

CITB-ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council, has developed the NationalConstructionCollege – a network of colleges offering training in and assessing construction skills throughout the UK.

The industry has its own vocational qualifications and Apprenticeships at Advanced and Apprentice level. People can gain vocational qualifications while working as a craftsman/woman, 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.

Further information

CITB-ConstructionSkills, Bircham Newton, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE31 6RH Tel: 01485 577577 Website: www.citb-constructionskills.co.uk (NationalConstructionCollege, Tel: 08457 336666)