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Kalcrest - Helping Clients Avoid Skilled Trade Crisis

Published on 29th April 2015

A recent article in The Guardian has stressed the current construction skills crisis saying ‘Britain faces its biggest skills shortage for a generation’.

A clear demonstration of the problem is highlighted with the extraordinary statistic that one in three of the largest construction companies is having to turn down bidding opportunities due to a shortage of skilled labour.

In addition the shortage of skilled Britons has been so acute that building firms in London are hiring Portuguese bricklayers.
According to Kalcrest, although there is a national shortage, they are in the fortunate position of having enough skilled tradespeople on their books to fulfil the requirements of their clients.

Jo Hurley, Director of KalcrestJo Hurley, Director of Kalcrest, said: “The Kalcrest team work tirelessly to recruit and retain the best quality tradespeople, and we are lucky to have some great people on our books. Our continued ability to provide skilled trades to our clients ensures they can keep to their construction timescales.

We do, however, recognise the need to continually bring new blood into the industry, and are keen supporters of any campaign that encourages more people into apprenticeships. I also think that more could be done at a younger age; whilst future skilled tradespeople are still at school, such as offering specific trades as an option with a qualification that can be achieved.”

The Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians, blames the shortage on “a 30-year failure to train apprentices”. In 2013, just 7,280 apprentices completed their training across all trades while Construction Skills, the training body, estimates the industry needs 35,000 new entrants just to stand still – and this figure will grow as the sector continues to recover.

The report states that construction and technical companies blame the recession for the lack of apprentices and are calling on government and schools to promote trades.

Original source: The Guardian

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