Construction sector needs skilled workers

Demand for skilled labour in the UK construction industry is expected to grow in the next five years. ConstructionSkills, which deals in making sure that there are enough skilled construction works to meet the industry’s demands, says that 87,600 new skilled workers will be required each year between 2007 and 2011 in order to fill all the needed positions. Demand will be in all areas, but the largest need will be for bricklayers, cladders, and roofers. The needs will not just be for skilled labor, but in technical and managerial positions. Architects will also be in demand.

Large projects will account for some of the demand. New construction for the 2012 Olympic Games is one such project, but a government program to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in the UK, worth £4.7 billion dollars is by far the largest single project. Other projects that are planned include infrastructure construction such as railway station expansions in Birmingham New Street and Nottingham, as well as underground and roads projects.

ConstructionSkills plans to provide training for new construction workers in a series of academies on building sites. The first of these academies, in Bishopsgate in London, has already begun.

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