Having started to recover from the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, areas of the country are facing new restrictions weeks before we are due to leave the EU. This summary presents three scenarios about how the economy will recover, and what they mean for construction. All suggest that a recovery will not be as rapid as initially hoped for, but that by working together, we can address the key skill challenges.
…need to present the industry as attractive to join…
Steve Radley, Policy Director at the CITB writes (in the Foreword to the Industry Outlook):
Our forecast, produced with Experian, indicates that most sub-sectors of construction are set for a challenging few years ahead, although there are some brighter spots, with infrastructure and housing standing out.
With this picture in mind, we have highlighted the key actions that CITB is taking and looked at how, CITB, industry and government should work together on the key skills challenges to support recovery. These include continuing high levels of support for the next 12 months, sustained investment in skills, and greater certainty on the pipeline of work for economic and social infrastructure.
CITB has a central role in supporting construction employers across Great Britain so that they have the right skills. We need to present the industry as attractive to join, with clear pathways of entry and progression, such as through work experience and with opportunities for continued training, particularly for people of diverse backgrounds; setting standards; and addressing current training gaps and anticipating future needs in areas such as digital and decarbonisation.
This summary does not contain the usual annual recruitment requirement for the sector, as the economic environment is currently too uncertain to produce a reliable figure. We expect to include one in our usual annual report, which will be published in the first quarter of 2021’
Steve Radley
Strategy and Policy Director at CITB
