Workloads for Northern Ireland’s builders plummeted this Spring, with the NI construction SME sector being the worst performing home nation in the UK, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Northern Ireland (NI).
Key results from the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q2 2019, which is the only quarterly assessment of the UK-wide SME construction sector, include:
- UK-wide, there was a decrease in employment levels among small construction firms for the first time in more than five years with over one fifth (21%) of employers reporting a reduced workforce;
- UK-wide, after a difficult start to 2019, workloads for construction SMEs grew slightly compared with the previous quarter with more employers (27%) reporting higher workloads than in the first quarter of this year (22%);
- In NI, in terms of the overall score for workloads, expected workloads and enquiries, the was a significant drop of 44 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. NI is the only home nation to see its construction SME sector in decline;
- Bricklayers are the trade in shortest supply with nearly two-thirds (60%) of construction SMEs struggling these tradespeople and 54% struggling to hire carpenters and joiners.
Gavin McGuire, Director of FMB Northern Ireland, said: “Builders in NI are struggling compared to the rest of the UK, and its highly concerning that the market is actually shrinking. Alarm bells should be ringing in all of our ears as if we experience a sustained downturn, we could lose capacity in the NI construction sector for good. Builders continue to tender for work but clients are unwilling to commit to significant projects as we all wait with bated breath to see how Brexit plays out, and whether a way forward is found in terms of the deadlock at Stormont.”
McGuire concluded: “Local builders are the bedrock of the entire construction industry and train two-thirds of all construction apprentices. Without them, the industry cannot deliver the homes NI so desperately needs. In order to boost the market here in NI and avoid any long-term loss in capacity in the construction sector, local authorities with planning functions must work with industry to speed the planning process as a matter of urgency. For larger developments, it takes an average of 59 weeks for a planning application to receive a decision. This is an unacceptable amount of time when you consider that these delays act as a break on economic growth and the delivery of new homes.”
