Q&A with Sarah Beale
1. In the context of the skills shortage, what benefit would a more diverse workforce bring to UK construction?
Diversifying our construction workforce is the key to meeting the UK’s future skills needs. We must stop fishing from only half the pond, widen the talent pool and encourage those who traditionally haven’t joined construction, like women, people from BAME or LGBT backgrounds and those with disabilities. We also need to ensure we’re recruiting people through many different routes, rather than relying on word of mouth, as our industry has done traditionally. CITB works with industry partners to attract more people from a broad range of backgrounds into the industry through a variety of initiatives, supported by our funding. We have a new funding commission, Pathways into Construction, which aims to encourage people from non-traditional routes into the industry. We’ll make this happen by working with organisations that already have strong links with these groups, and together show them what construction has to offer.
2. What do you think is the biggest barrier to people pursuing a career in construction?
The lingering negative perception of construction is a huge barrier preventing some of our best and brightest from joining our industry. We need to focus on showcasing the broad range of construction careers via Go Construct to people from all backgrounds – there’s so much more than muddy boots on site. The need to modernise and digitise our industry offers both a recruitment challenge and an opportunity. If we can understand how to adopt technology to make construction more innovative and productive, we can also attract a wider pool of applicants. It’s about getting people with technology and digital skills into the sector, but it’s also about helping our workforce develop the soft skills everyone will need to be really successful in a more digital era.
Not only must we encourage more people into the industry, we also must try harder to retain staff. Employers must provide the conditions and flexibilities expected in the modern workforce, otherwise the revolving door of recruiting people only for them to leave will keep on going, which is expensive and unproductive.
3. In your opinion, what does the industry need to do to attract and retain more workers?
In order to attract and retain more people, construction must feel open to all. We must diversify the industry, and work hard to change its culture and improve its perception. Construction is modernizing and there is a wide range of exciting career paths that CITB is working to promote. Equally, employers must provide the working conditions and practices that will help a diverse range of people thrive in the industry.
We need to match people with work experience opportunities. This will create better experiences for people entering the sector. It will also address employer perceptions that new recruits are not ‘work ready’. We also need to enable people to move and progress in their careers to keep them in the industry. The Construction Skills Fund, launched by Government and run by CITB, is just one great example of how we will do this. Twenty on-site training hubs across England will provide access to training on live construction sites for people looking to get in or get on in our industry.
