Civils contractors warn of skills gap

Civil engineering contractors are warning that the sector is facing serious skills shortages.

Analysis of responses from the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA)’s latest quarterly workload trends survey show that it has never been more difficult to recruit skilled staff in England.

The future supply of skilled personnel was the single largest concern amongst civils firms across the UK.

CECA Director of External Affairs Marie- Claude Hemming said:

“There are now serious concerns as to the ability to attract skilled staff to cope with a growing market.

There is a substantial pipeline of work to be delivered in the coming years. Industry and Government need to work together through the Construction Sector Deal to respond to these challenges”.

Liquid Friday’s Joe Taffurelli was emphatic about the need to address skills shortages across the board. He said:

“One has to question whether this is another nail in the coffin for the CITB? We need to see urgent reform of the Apprenticeship Levy and training opportunities for contractors to fill this ever-growing gap.

The team here at Liquid Friday fully support any initiatives and reforms which will upskill the UK workforce.”

Key findings of the CECA survey

• CECA members reported a marginal increase in work during the third quarter of 2018, with 10% of UK firms, on balance, reporting increased work loads, compared to 6% in the previous quarter.
• This growth in civils workloads is partially offset by poor results from Scotland, where workloads fell for a fourth successive quarter.
• Costs rose according to 89% of British firms, the highest in nearly three years.

Recruiting in the civils sector?

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