The construction industry will be ready to face the challenges ahead - Alastair Wallace

The UK construction industry is facing the most critical and widespread challenge in our lifetime – and it could not have come at a worse moment.

As major firms and contractors across the country work to survey the impact of the RAAC crisis, the sector is in the middle of an unprecedented skills and labour shortage.

Issues such as Brexit, Covid and rising costs have all played a part in the huge staffing deficit across the industry, along with a very basic issue of not attracting enough young people into careers in quantity surveying, building surveying and project management. Despite the best efforts of firms like ours, the skills gap is real, and widening.

And one of the ramifications of this issue could impede the national effort to investigate the extent of the RAAC crisis in public buildings.

The industry must tackle its recruitment crisis (Picture: stock.adobe.com)

There is huge pressure to get this issue right as it’s at the very front of the public’s consciousness. However, there are only a limited number of structural engineers and building surveyors qualified to roll that out. Furthermore, what makes the issue so acute is that legislation requires a surveyor to have completed one year of RAAC inspection experience to be appointed. At Thomas & Adamson, we have that experience, but a lot of surveyors don’t. This will have a major impact, creating a perfect storm of both labour and skills shortages, made worse by the legislation.

That’s just one impact of the staffing issues we are all facing. Contractors are reporting losing whole teams of workers at short notice, with many being offered more money per hour at neighbouring sites. Availability issues lead to longer programmes which attract a cost, and this is driving expenditure even more than material supply issues, which also continue to be a concern.

But if any industry knows how to rebound, it’s ours. It’s all about tackling the problem, thinking differently, and taking the action required to make a difference.

New talent will be the key to success

Alastair Wallace, Senior Partner at Thomas & Adamson

In terms of attracting new talent, there simply aren’t enough graduates coming through further education to fill these gaps. While institutions are working to attract more people, and are improving and restructuring the courses on offer, we as an industry, need to take the lead.

One avenue open to us is recruiting school leavers. The apprenticeship route allows us to bring school leavers in, with potential for government funding, across a number of disciplines. We can offer to support the young person’s training and qualifications, offering them a secure career and the opportunity to start their ‘adult’ life without loans and debt.

Historically the industry has been guilty of not doing enough with school leavers and typically relying on graduates coming in from further education. If we are to combat the idea of people being uninterested in this space, we need more awareness at a grassroots level, which means going into schools and selling the industry to young people.

Growth opportunities for 2024

The industry may be facing uncertainty over several issues, but we are confident things can improve and there are great opportunities and advantages for the sector moving forwards.

If staffing gaps can be filled and the recruitment crisis mitigated, there is significant business in not just RAAC projects, but in cladding, healthcare and residential.

In terms of sustainability, decarbonisation is a major pipeline for our business, with £300bn needed to meet net zero targets in decarbonising social housing stock in the short to medium term. Many projects are moving away from traditional gas heating to electric sources, and it’s increasingly about whole-life carbon, with clients and tenants looking for Energy Performance Certificate ratings on buildings.

There is work. There are opportunities. The challenges are not unsubstantial.

But we are looking forward to meeting them over the next coming year, and as ever, remain optimistic for what lies ahead in our industry.

Alastair Wallace, Senior Partner at Thomas & Adamson