The lack of suitably skilled personnel entering the construction industry has the capacity to derail any specialist contractors’ growth in the current market. The industry spends a lot of time talking about the practical skills shortage and the need for a trained workforce onsite, however the issue is all encompassing – affecting every facet of what we do, both on and offsite.

There is an expert skillset within the industry that is being eroded by retirement and in order to counteract it, specialist contractors need to proactively invest both time and money to feed their businesses from the bottom up. Waiting for the government to spark change just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Those with the ability to lead the necessary change must do so in order to future-proof our industry.

We fully endorse the findings of Mark Farmer’s government report, aptly titled ‘Modernise or Die’ and believe that specialist contractors can no longer neglect the opportunities available, via schools and universities, to speak candidly about the industry to a younger audience. Actively participating in career events across the UK, it’s disheartening that those from the construction industry are still very much in the minority – especially representatives from main and specialist contractors.

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