Shropshire Star

Building trade hit by skills shortage

For Matt Tyrrell, the reward is being able to step back and look at a job well done.

Published
The construction industry is short of bricklayers

"For me, it's about the satisfaction of seeing something that you have created from nothing," says the specialist joiner.

"You can stand back when it is all finished and look at what you have made, people who work in an office don't get to do that.

"The positive is that you are making stuff."

It seems he is an increasingly rare breed. While the need for new homes is well documented – Telford & Wrekin Council estimates it will need to build 17,280 homes over the next 13 years, while in Shropshire Council reckons it will need 28,750 2036 – building firms are becoming increasingly concerned about the shortage of skilled tradesmen.

The Federation of Master Builders' state of the trade survey reports a growing number of construction firms struggling to recruit the workers that will be needed to meet these targets. The latest quarterly survey found that 68 per cent of small- and medium-sized building firms were struggling to hire bricklayers, while 63 per cent were having difficulties recruiting carpenters and joiners – the highest since records began in 2008.

The number of firms reporting difficulties hiring plumbers and electricians (48 per cent), plasterers (46 per cent) and floorers (30 per cent.) also reached record highs.

It is a trend that familiar to Mr Tyrrell, who is only too aware of the skills shortage in the construction sector.

The number of firms reporting difficulties hiring plumbers and electricians (48 per cent), plasterers (46 per cent) and floorers (30%) also reached record highs;

"Youngsters don't necessarily want to go into a trade, it's not seen as being as glamorous as sitting in an office in front of a computer for some of them," says Mr Tyrrell, who is assistant manager at Morris Bespoke Joinery in Shrewsbury.

The 34-year-old says a lot of the problem is down to schools, which seem to be increasingly biased towards academia.

"When I was at school, you either went into a trade, or you went to university," he says. "Now it seems everyone wants to go down the academic route. A lot of youngsters don't want to work outside in the cold and rain."

Another problem is the volatile nature of the industry, where workers tend to work largely on a self-employed, sub-contract basis. This was particularly brought to light during the slump 10 years ago, when thousands of construction workers found themselves struggling for work, and the industry has never fully recovered.

"There's no job security any more," says Mr Tyrrell.

"You can have three months' work in one week, and the next you might have nothing and will have to go out and find it. Some people have got families and mortgages, and that's not ideal. That's why a lot of people shy away from it."

But Mr Tyrrell also questions the work ethic of some young people, who seem more easily distracted than previous generations.

"People don't want to work hard like they used to," he says.

"It is something I have noticed, not here, but at other companies I have worked at.

"You take someone on, and they are on their phones all the time, they don't want to work, it comes as a big shock to them. They would rather be sat in an office in front of a computer."

Chief executive of the Federeation of Master Builders, Brian Berry, says: "Skills shortages are sky-rocketing and it begs the question, who will build the new homes and infrastructure projects the Government is crying out for."

Mr Berry says the Government has set itself an ambitious target of seeing 300,000 new homes built in England every year, but adds that the shortage of bricklayers has increased by nearly 10 per cent over the past three months.

"This points to a rapid worsening of an already dire situation," he says. "What’s more, nearly as many are facing difficulties hiring carpenters and joiners. "These figures are the highest we’ve noted since records began a decade ago. As a result, the wages for these increasingly scarce skilled tradespeople continue to rise sharply; that’s a simple consequence of supply and demand. This, coupled with the fact that small construction firms continue to face significant material price increases, will inevitably squeeze their margins and put a brake on growth.”

Mr Berry says it is important that the Government takes this labour shortage into account when drawing up the terms of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.

"Without skilled labour from the EU, the skills shortages we face would be considerably worse, and it is not in anyone’s best interest to pull the rug out from under the sector by introducing an inflexible and unresponsive immigration system," he says.

"The Prime Minister must ensure that the immigration system that replaces the free movement of people can take account of the particular needs of key sectors such as construction and house building."

In the longer term, Mr Berry says it is important the Government continues to work with the industry to ensure the right training opportunities are available. He says the new T-levels, a vocational alternative to A-levels announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer last year, were a step in the right direction, and said it was also important to ensure that there were enough apprentices coming through.

Telford College has been at the forefront of providing vocational trading in the industry for some years, and at the moment has 205 students on its books doing construction courses and apprenticeships.

Director of apprenticeships Carol Smith says the college works closely with building firms in the area, and the figures reflect what employers have told her.

"Certainly we know that there's a skills shortage in those areas at the moment," she says.

"That's the message we have been getting from a lot of building firms when we've been talking to them, it's not a surprise."

Mrs Smith says many employees will be showing the exciting careers that exist in the industry at a construction recruitment fair that it is hosting on February 7. She adds that the popularity of its courses shows that there are still plenty of young people who want to work in the trade.

"It's an exciting time for young people to be looking at apprenticeships in construction," she says.

Mrs Smith says the supply and demand for construction workers tends to work in cycles, adding that a few years ago there was a surplus of tradesmen in some areas, which led to a decline in the training of new tradesmen.

She says the industry has made great strides in changing its image in recent years, becoming more attractive to people who in the past might not have thought it was for them.

"We have seen quite a lot of young ladies coming into the industry in recent years, I think the building companies have done a lot over the last 10 years to change its image."

Brian Berry says there is one good thing to come out of the skills shortage, and that is that workers losing their jobs with the collapsed Wolverhampton construction giant Carillion are unlikely to be out of work for long.

“The silver lining to current skills shortages is that the numerous tradespeople and professionals, who may find themselves out of work following the collapse of Carillion, have a ready supply of alternative employers.

"The Federation is working with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Construction Industry Training Board to match-make ex-Carillion workers with small construction employers in need of skilled workers.

"We’re also working hard as an industry to re-home the 1,200 Carillion apprentices who are the innocent victims of the major contractor’s demise. It’s in everyone’s interests to ensure that these young people continue on their path to a rewarding career in construction.”

*Telford College's Careers in Construction event will be held at the campus in Haybridge Road, Wellington, on February 7 from 1pm to 3pm.