'Concerns remain' over construction skills gap
2010-04-08
The current state of the construction sector is fuelling concerns of a skills gap, news editor at Construction News Alex Hawkes has said.Speaking following research from the Federation of Master Builders, which shows that more than half of companies surveyed expect to take on no new staff this year, Mr Hawkes said that the pace of recovery in the industry will be pivotal in determining whether such concerns become reality.
"If the industry can emerge quicker [from recession] than people expect then there is less chance of people just disappearing and going to work in other industries and losing skills. It's all about the pace of recovery," said Mr Hawkes.
He added that at the moment, however, predicting the pace of recovery is difficult to do, so accurate forecasts for the future of the industry are hard to make.
The survey from the Federation of Master Builders also revealed that some 30 per cent of building companies surveyed expect their workloads to fall this year.
