BSRIA says government needs to be more connected to engineering

BSRIA is concerned by the skills gap in the construction industry. Construction apprenticeships are down 60% since 2009, according to the LGA (Local Government Association). The Federation of Master Builders has published a survey that says that two-thirds of small businesses are turning down work because of the skills shortage. The industry needs around 35 000 new apprentices to cope with demand, but only about 7000 apprentices completed training in construction in 2013.

BSRIA’s White Paper on ‘Bridging the Skills Gap’ identified one of the root causes of the skills gap as the lack of connectedness in the government, where very few have an engineering background. They are calling for someone in government to ‘come up with bright ideas and incentivise’.

Julia Evans, Chief Executive, BSRIA, said: “We need to change the image of our industry. Government can help industry to communicate better to make engineering more interesting. We need to move the focus away from one of being a ‘construction industry’ to one focused on ‘the built environment’.

Previous research from the LGA has highlighted the danger posed to economic growth by a skills shortage, proving it is in everyone’s interest to tackle this situation.

Adapted from press release by Katherine Guenioui

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/24082015/bsria-says-government-needs-to-be-more-connected-to-engineering-423/