46
JUNE 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO SKILLS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Windows
Can’t Fit
Themselves
Specialist fenestration and glazing training provider,
4GE Academy, looks at the implications of skills
shortages across the construction sector.
Six months ago, news broke
that there were Portuguese
bricklayers earning up to
£1,000 per week on building sites in London, due
to a chronic shortage of
skilled tradesmen. Figures
quoted in the media by
recruitment firm, Manpower,
suggested that wages were
doubled in order to attract
skilled workers from overseas, so that construction
companies could fulfill their
contracts.
Perhaps it’s hardly surprising
that this situation arose as the
sector suffered its most protracted
downturn for a generation following the economic crisis of 2008.
Hundreds of thousands of workers
exited construction and associated
industries as work dried up and
valuable skills were transferred,
wherever possible, into other
areas. There were skills shortages
before then, which compounded
the issue.
According to a report by accountants KPMG and the London Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (LCCI), about 20% more
construction managers, surveyors,
electricians and other trades will
be necessary to meet demand,
over the next four years, than
were needed from 2010-13.
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PRO Installer,
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The acquisition of skills takes time
and therein lays the fundamental
problem. With the economy growing again and companies seeing
their order books fill up, there’s a
challenging dichotomy of the fruit
being within reach but not being
able to harvest it.
A number of research studies
carried out over the past couple of
years agreed that more neede BF