Construction Skills Network Optimistic About Sector

Construction Skills Network Optimistic About Sector

The latest Construction Skills Network (CSN) produced by CITB has predicted that the UK’s construction output will increase by 1.3 per cent in the coming five years.

Public housing and infrastructure were identified as the two areas of the industry set for the biggest growth, with 3.2 per cent and 2.7 per cent between 2019 and 2023 respectively.

What’s more, the organisation expects an additional 168,500 construction jobs to be created in the next five years. This is up from the 158,000 forecast in the 2018-2022 period.

The most in-demand jobs are expected to be construction process managers, other construction professional and technical staff, and wood trades and interior fit out.

Policy director of CITB Steve Radley said that Brexit is understandably weighing on the sector, but that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“Assuming that a deal is agreed, we expect low but positive growth for construction. Even as infrastructure slows, sectors like public housing and R&M are strengthening,” he asserted.

The West Midlands and South West of England are the two areas that have the most buoyant construction forecast, with activity in both of these regions expected to climb by over two per cent in the next five years.

This comes after the latest Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index from IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply suggested that activity in the UK’s construction industry has stalled at the start of 2019.

Brexit was named as a contributing factor by many of those surveyed, with many noting that investors are holding off on making any big decisions until there’s more clarity of exactly how the UK will leave the EU.

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