Skills

Director Nicola Hodkinson says changes to employers’ NI and the minimum wage will not help the skills crisis Nicola Hodkinson is not happy.This April brings a double whammy of costs for contractors, with increases in both employer national insurance contributions and the minimum wage. In her first Budget announcement last…

Mark Farmer’s review of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) was released today (30 January). In an interview with Construction News, he explains his recommendations, and why improving quality is important in driving up the number of people employed in construction. You recommend a merger between the Engineering Construction Industry…

Thomas Vandecasteele is managing director of contractor and property developer Legendre UK The construction industry across Europe is undergoing a dynamic period of change, driven by the need to address economic shifts, rising material and labour costs, and project delays. In the UK, the pressure is mounting, with a projected…

Balfour Beatty is looking to train a new generation of overhead power workers to meet a glut of work in the energy transmission sector Though not quite in the clouds, I am very high up, thinking about the tensile strength of steel and the significance of each of us in…

This year, the Labour Party’s annual conference played host to 29 fringe events containing the word “housing” in the title. A further seven mentioned the word “infrastructure”. In crowded rooms across the conference zone on Liverpool’s dockside, delegates crammed in to hear the new army of excited “generation rent” MPs…

Haman Manak is the procurement director at Stanmore For the past 18 months, we’ve all felt the effects of the economic headwinds. Under the tough, high interest rate climate, some well-known peers went insolvent – and activity stats across our sector have looked abnormally meagre. “The government cannot overlook or…

Lucy Clarke is chief executive of recruitment firm Fixed Construction Receiving construction training while earning a salary in Canada, Australia or New Zealand for two years is a very attractive proposition. Faced with that option versus those available in the UK, it’s highly likely that young people aged 18-35 would…

A project that challenges young people to design stadiums is helping build bridges to a career in the built environment Ninety 12- and 13-year-olds used a skills outreach event in London to pitch their designs for new football stadiums to professionals from the likes of HS2 Ltd, Multiplex, Ramboll and…

Samantha Knight is group HR director at housing developer MJ Gleeson Every company has a responsibility to actively participate in the dialogue surrounding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and to contribute to its implementation in the workplace. EDI isn't just a buzzword – it is a cornerstone of future success…

Matt Voyce is executive director of construction at Quintain The construction industry needs more than a quarter of a million extra workers by 2026. Between 1991 and 2011 the Office for National Statistics tracked a 13 per cent increase in the number of UK construction workers aged 45 and over.…