The construction market is on the rebound, but ongoing skills shortages continue to pose a threat, according to an analysis by construction and rail recruitment specialist One Way.

One Way found that the majority of building firms have overcome the initial hesitation shown following the Brexit announcement, leaving the sector in a relatively positive state. However, this could all be affected by ongoing and ever worsening skills shortages. This comes at a time when the latest Markit/CIPS data suggested the industry showed signs of recovery in August following a difficult July.

Speaking exclusively to Staffing Industry Analysts, Paul Payne, managing director of One Way, has considered different options for tackling skills shortages.

“One of the things we have been talking about for some time is the need for more contracting firms to offer apprenticeships top school leavers,” Payne said. “But while getting more trainee and entry level professionals into the sector – and using temporary staff - can help tackle shortages in the short term, realistically, we need to be thinking about much longer-lasting solutions to the problem. We all know that skilled and experienced professionals left the industry in droves and never returned during the financial downturn and we’re still suffering from the shortfall that this left us with. If we’re really serious about halting shortages we need to get in front of people younger than potential apprentices, perhaps even at primary school level and promote the kind of cool, cutting edge careers that construction has to offer.”

“Who could honestly say that many young children are really aware of the potential scope of a career in the industry? Probably very few, and with the growth of innovative and exciting technology having an increasingly greater impact on the field, we’re going to have alternative tools to pique their attention and hopefully allow them to consider construction as a career of choice. Firms also need to do more to attract women to work and – crucially, stay – in construction. We’re currently essentially excluding half of the workforce from working in the sector because of the types of working cultures and environments that are in place and all employers should consider reviewing this if they’re struggling to attract the professionals they need,” Payne said.

According to One Way, many commentators have compared the downturn within the construction industry to the one experienced by the market during the recession in 2008. Speaking to Sky News, Payne said:

“We as a business haven’t experienced the effects of anything like the negativity felt back during the recession in 2008. It was quite a shocking time in all honesty. However the market is drastically different now and we’re not seeing any similar effects.”

“The sector experienced a challenging July, but the majority of that was down to firms holding back from investing because of uncertainty over the state of the market following the referendum. However, now the dust has settled somewhat and organisations are seeing that, actually, not a lot has changed, they’re giving projects the go ahead once again,” Payne said.

“The main issue facing the industry continues to be the ongoing and ever worsening skills shortages. As we, and a number of other major firms have said, there’s just not enough people operating in the sector to work on all the projects currently in the pipeline. If the market continues to expand and becomes more positive, we could reach a stage very shortly where projects are put on hold solely due to skills shortages.