What do you make of the skills gap in the construction industry? as a member of the Suffolk branch of the National Federation of Builders, and Eastern region chair, I’m well aware of the gap in construction skills that currently exists. at Gipping we work closely with local industry colleagues and the community to promote construction, and we had several apprentices working alongside experienced craftsmen at the Great Bealings house. The CITB is going through a period of change and also faces the challenges brought about by the, soon to be implemented, apprenticeship Levy. We at Gipping along with our colleagues in our region are in regular communication with the CITB to ensure we are in the strongest possible position ensure the skills gap can be bridged, but there is no doubt that there is a long road ahead and that we all need to pull together.
Could the construction industry be doing more to get young people into the building trades? We could always do more. The industry needs to get into schools to show young people the breadth of opportunities in property and construction. It’s no longer just ‘brickies and chippies’, there are so many other prospects in engineering, design, IT and electronics. The Apprenticeship Levy is coming soon, which will require all businesses with a wage bill of over £3 million to invest in apprenticeships, and that will help – although you’d hope that businesses of that size would already have training programmes in place!
What about the future for the industry as a whole? It’s an uncertain time for everyone at the moment, although there has been a slow increase in the number of houses built year on year across the country. Contracting is still tough, pricing is very competitive, but the demand for new homes remains high. at Gipping our ethos remains to go about our business in a way which results in all parties saying at the end of a project that with hindsight they ‘would do it again with Gipping’. Scrutton Bland have almost one hundred years of experience in advising property and construction professionals on their insurance, accounting, audit and taxation needs. If you would like to talk to us about your business please telephone 01473 267000 or 01206 838400 or see our website www.scruttonbland.co.uk
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