Skills & Training in the Construction Industry

apprentice

The Skills and Training in the Construction Industry Survey (previously the Employers’ Skills Needs Survey) of 1046 construction sector employers and 156 sole traders/self employed, provides information and identifies existence of skill shortages/gaps by occupation, sector and geographical area.

Summary

  • 36% of employers had been forced to reduce the number of employees at their establishment as a result of the recession.
  • Overall employers describe around 59,000 direct employees as not fully proficient, equivalent to 4% of the directly employed workforce.
  • 51% of establishments have funded or arranged training or development for staff in the past 12 months.
  • The two main barriers to being able to deliver more training were a lack of funds for training, or training being considered expensive, and not being able to spare the time off for training.
  • Overall 7% of employers had staff currently undertaking Apprenticeships, and a further 11% offer Apprenticeships but did not have anyone currently participating.
  • Results suggest a total of 21,000 Apprentices currently based with employers, equivalent to 1.4% of the total directly employed workforce in the construction contracting sector in the UK.

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