Build UK to develop industry-wide recruitment strategy

As a result of the recent Construction News Summit Skills Hack, Build UK have been tasked with developing an industry-wide recruitment strategy aimed at inspiring people to join the industry.

The Skills Hack brought together 40 industry representatives to look at the skills challenge affecting the industry and agree solutions as to how to tackle it.

In addition to developing initiatives to inspire people, increasing the value of apprenticeships and vocational training was also deemed a key area. It was widely agreed that this would help tackle construction’s skills challenges and contribute to filling the 46,000 jobs the industry is anticipated to create in the next five years.

Stephen Davies, Managing Director of Kalcrest, said:

“We are very pleased to see that the UK construction skills shortage is being addressed. We look forwards to seeing the proposed initiatives to inspire people, and how value will be added to apprenticeships in more detail. Attracting people into the industry is a very real problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.”

Build UK has committed to work with industry bodies and employers to draft:

• An industry-wide training and qualifications plan to support the delivery of the skills that are required.
• An industry recruitment and retention strategy to pull together best practice and enable employers to collaborate on initiatives.
• An industry apprenticeship strategy to make people’s journeys through training and qualification easier.

Chief Executive of Build UK Suzannah Nichol MBE said: “If we want to change the system, we ourselves have to change. If we are prepared to do that we will become an industry of first choice to work in, and together we can all win.”

Source: Build UK