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Workers urged to consider construction careers as wages climb

Published on 29th October 2015

The number of available construction jobs is growing
Workers have been urged to consider training for construction jobs after it was revealed that wages in the building trade climbed at a faster rate than in any other sector over the past year.

Increased activity levels in the sector have seen demand for experienced workers grow, but the skills shortage has made it more difficult to find the right people to fill construction jobs.

This imbalance of supply and demand has pushed pay rates up, and figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that average weekly pay in the building trade climbed by 5.1% from £557 to £593 over the past 12 months.

An analysis of the figures by Construction Enquirer found that this was the highest rate of increase for any sector within the economy and compared very favourably to the change in the average weekly pay of all UK workers, which rose by just 3.1% from £479 to £494 during the same period.

Gillian Econopouly, Head of Policy and Research at the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), said: “News that construction wages have increased faster than any other industry over the past year shows just how rewarding a construction career can be.

“This, combined with CITB forecasts indicating over 220,000 new construction jobs will be created over the next five years, indicates there is no better time to enter the industry.”

Employment Minister Priti Patel also welcomed the news. She said: “The construction industry is a real success story. More than two million people are employed in the sector, and their hard work is resulting in more money in their pay packets.”

While news of the rising wages is likely to encourage more people to consider a career in construction, it does little to solve the immediate skills shortage that continues to cause problems for contractors.

Kalcrest Site Services helps construction contractors to deal with the skills shortage by supplying experienced, reference-checked trades, engineers, site managers and labourers for projects on a short or long-term basis.

Call us on 01709 720348 or contact us via info@kalcrest.co.uk for more information about our recruitment services.

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