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PRO INSTALLER MAY 2015
PRO SKILLS
@proinstaller1
LABOUR SHORTAGES
BIGGEST GROWTH BARRIER
Material shortages ease but 63% of respondents cite labour shortages as leading restraint on growth.
Although recent official
construction data has been
a little mixed, the latest
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Construction Market Survey for
the first quarter of 2015,
shows labour shortages
in the sector intensifying
alongside feedback that
workloads are continuing to
rise.
Nearly two-thirds of surveyors
warn labour shortages are intensifying; 63% cited labour shortages as an issue followed by 55%
highlighting finance.
While workloads remain positive, the private sector remains
the principal driver of growth,
with 41% of respondents reporting a rise in housing workload
activity and the commercial
sector also seeing a strong rise in
workloads in Q1.
Yet, as workloads continue to
expand, labour shortages are
becoming increasingly visible
in all divisions, with bricklayers
and construction professionals
being in short supply with 45%
and 60% of respondents retrospectively reporting difficulties
sourcing these skills in Wales.
Despite all the anecdotal evidence that a degree of uncertainty entered the market in the run
up to the general election, outward confidence for growth in
the Welsh market is strong, with
83% of respondents expecting
their workloads to rise over the
next 12 months.
RICS Director of the Built
Environment Alan Muse said:
“Despite the outward optimism,
‘The upturn in
workloads has led
to more competitive
tendering’
there are some very real unknowns which are impacting on
industry, including the UK’s relationship with Europe and skills
shortages.
The upturn in workloads has
led to more competitive tendering, particularly across public sector projects, but a lack
of accessible finance is now
affecting a net balance of 55%
of our members, and this will
be felt most keenly among the
small-medium sized businesses.
Now that material shortages
are becoming less of an issue,
the practical challenges are in
providing the skilled labour the
industry needs and in alleviating
the financial constraints, which
saw nine months of decreased
lending in 2014.
For more information
visit www.rics.org
Skills drive to boost fit-out worker numbers
A skills campaign
aimed at driving up
the number of highly
qualified workers in
the interiors and fitout sector has been
launched by an industry body.
In the next five years, the
Finishes & Interiors Sector
group (FIS) will seek to
boost the level of expertise
in the industry with an ambitious plan to bring some
80,000 workers up to the
NVQ2 level.
And the organisation’s
chairman has already announced proposals for an
innovative website that will
allow firms to find suitable
training schemes, which
could go live as early as this
year.
Skills development
Chairman David Frise said
this should help to tackle
some of the issues affecting
skills development in the
sector.
He said: “The problem is
many colleges say they run
courses but few do in prac-
tice because they don’t have
enough people.
“We will aggregate demand from employers to
make courses more viable.”
Qualifications
and training
One of the key targets
of the campaign will be to
get around two-thirds of
the workforce up to the
level where they can carry
skills cards, which prove a
worker has the right qualifications and training.
It is hoped this will help
to increase profits in the
interiors and fit-out sector
at the same time as improving safety standards.
Mr Frise said: “We have
an ambitious strategy to
help our members meet
the future needs of the
industry and to make it a
safe,