by Bethany Vann | 11 Jan 24 | Commercial Landscaping, Domestic Landscaping, News
It is no secret Britain is going through a skill shortage- falling short by 225k tradespeople to keep up with current demand, and a ‘serious gender imbalance’.
The UK construction industry is on track to lose almost £100bn of economic growth by 2030 as a result of a shrinking pool of skilled tradespeople.
An estimated recruitment of 45k workers per year is needed to meet government demands by 2027.
While data from the Office of National Statistics reveals only 15% of the workforce is currently made up of women, it has prompted industry voices to discuss whether more women in the trades could solve the growing shortage.
Clive Holland, broader of Fix Radio says: “The UK construction sector is facing a huge skills deficit – experienced tradespeople left the sector in droves during the pandemic and efforts to recruit young people into the trades are failing.
“According to government figures the number of young people entering apprenticeships has fallen by nearly 10% in the last year and the Construction Products Association estimated that over 220,000 workers have left the industry since the summer of 2019.”
The demand for tradespeople is set to increase as a result of the government targets on housing and achieving net-zero.
With shortages already impacting the country, a recent survey revealed that 19% of participants had to cancel or postpone projects in the last five years due to a lack of suitable tradespeople.
Current figures suggest that doubling the number of women in the industry could boost annual growth by over £800m, but without action, the current projected shortages could cost the nation up to £12bn annually in missed economic growth by 2030.
With all this taken into consideration, it seems as though the question is not: ‘Could more women in construction fix the nation’s skill shortage?’ It’s: ‘How can the construction sector appeal to more women?’
by Bethany Vann | 14 Nov 23 | Commercial Landscaping, News
Warning – mentions of mental health and suicide.
Data from the Department of Health and Social Care reported that the main cause of death in men under 50 was suicide, coupled by a surge in calls to a construction charity from tradespeople suggests a vulnerability within the sector, says Fix Radio.
New research from Fix Radio shows 38% of tradesmen are now experiencing the worst levels of stress and anxiety in their lifetime, while construction charity, Lighthouse reports receiving 400 calls a month from families from the construction industry.
With national helpline, The Big Brew revealing that over a third of texts were from tradespeople contemplating suicide, with 80% of its calls occuring Monday to Friday.
This all comes at a time where the construction sector continues to be impacted by material shortages and new environmental directives; leaving approximately 27% of SMEs in the trade on the verge of breaking point, says Fix Radio.
Clive Holland, host of The Clive Holland Show comments: “There is a lot of stress involved in running a small business – there are long hours, few holidays, slow payers and cash flow issues.
“In the last two years particularly, spiralling costs of materials and spiking energy prices have squeezed margins even further. Couple that with the growing skills shortage – it ramps up extra pressures on daily site life.”
Where can tradespeople go for help?
The Lighthouse offers support to the construction community in the UK and Ireland, offering a range of free and pro-active services.
Services include a 24/7 helpline covering all aspects of emotional, physical and financial wellbeing, available in a number of languages. In addition to a Text HardHat 24/7 service.
A self-support app called ‘Construction Industry Helpline’, CPD Accredited wellbeing education sessions, and ‘Lighthouse Beacons’, over 160 volunteer centers around the UK and Ireland accessible to workers.
Almost 70% of tradespeople said that there is still a stigma within the sector surrounding seeking help for mental health problems, according to industry research.
In light of Men’s Mental Health Month, Fix Radio aims to improve accessibility to the support on offer, helping those affected by poor mental health and/ or the repercussions of the negative stigma around speaking up.
by Bethany Vann | 18 Sep 23 | Landscape Architecture, Nature & Biodiversity, News, Sustainability, Topics
The governments’ recent plans to relax restrictions on water pollution has been blocked by the House of Lords.
The government put forward plans to remove EU-era ‘nutrient neutrality’ rules last month, with the intention to encourage housebuilding amid current sector slump, and support its own housebuilding target.
UK housebuilding has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, with only 898 major residential projects approved between April and June this year, says trade radio station Fix Radio.
Approval rates for major residential projects between April and June has fallen by 11%, in comparison to the same time last year; it’s the first quarterly figure to drop below 1,000 since 2012.
This decline has been accredited by Fix Radio to policy uncertainty, created by failed attempts at planning reforms. In a report by the National Planning Barometer, six in 10 participants said their planning teams lacked the resources to do the most efficient job, citing a “fundamental difference of opinion” between planners and councillors.
Multiple reports from key players in the sector attribute the decline to current state of the housing market, higher borrowing costs, overwhelming work schedule as a result of a smaller workforce, and new directives such as the ULEZ, which has left 27%% of SMEs in the trade on the verge of breaking point, says Fix Radio.
An additional 225,000 workers are needed by 2027 to keep up with the UK’s construction demand and outlined targets.
“The government target of 300,000 houses to be built per year, even before Covid, was extremely unrealistic for a couple of reasons,” says Fix Radio presenter, Clive Holland. “After Brexit, a lot of our support teams went back to their own countries, we didn’t have enough people in our industry, we’re already short of trades people as it is.”
The restriction removal could have seen over 100,000 new builds previously delayed, greenlit between now and 2030, with billions in estimated economy contributions and hundreds of supply chain jobs.
by Bethany Vann | 16 Aug 23 | News, Topics
Small businesses in the construction sector are “on the brink of collapse” as a result of the national skill crisis, worsened by lack of apprenticeship funding, says trade radio station Fix Radio.
In a report by Police Exchange, it was discovered that almost £5bn in funding raised by the national Apprenticeship Levy since 2018 has not been spent on apprenticeships.
Data from the Department for Education shows a 38% drop in completed apprenticeships, falling from 12,420 in 2018 to 7,700 in 2022. The number of people beginning construction apprenticeships in London fell by 18% from 2017/18 to 2020/21, found the London Assembly Economy Committee.
The Office for National Statistics disclosed that the construction sector experienced the second-highest percentage of worker shortages at the end of 2022. It is estimated that an additional 225,000 workers are needed in the construction industry by 2027 to meet market demand.
Clive Holland, broadcaster for Fix Radio says: “In the United Kingdom, we’ve got over 1.3 million unemployed in this country; if that is the case, that is quite a shock. In the background. If over one million people are unemployed and there’s all these job vacancies that need filling in the construction industry, I think the age limit for apprenticeship funding should be wiped out now.
“I think now is the time to go ‘here’s the support’. The Government can focus on apprentices and get people into schools and colleges to talk about the industry and the positives of becoming a tradesperson.”
