Construction Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Construction Industry - Essay Example The second part focuses on the construction industry in Britain and its problem of skill shortage. The last section, using a report by international project and cost managers, Gardiner and Theobald titled, 'London Wins 2012 Olympic Gamesbut Don't Panic.' illustrates why the British construction industry can meet the Olympics challenge (The report can be viewed at the Gardiner and Theobald Website at http://www.gardiner.com/NewsSystem/newstext/Olympics2.pdf) London will be the host city for the 2012 Olympic games. The games will be held in 33 venues across London and the UK. Construction work is complete in just 18 venues. The rest have to be built from scratch or will require major renovation prior to the Olympics .The centerpiece of the games will be the Olympic park in London. According to the Chartered Institute of Builders (CIOB) Position Statement on the London Olympics 2012, the Construction Products Association estimates that the Olympics will generate 10bn of investment in Britain, 2.5bn of which will be construction related. The CIOB statement also states that Consultancy Deloitte estimates about 12,000 jobs will be created in the construction sector. (The CIOB position statement can be viewed at http://194.217.225.164/media/CIOB-PS-LondonOlympics2012.pdf) The Department of Education and Skills has said that the construction industry needs around 88,000 new entrants every year in craft, technical, professional and management roles. In a press notice, it has stated that according to the National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) 2004, there are over 32,000 vacancies in the industry, 13,700 of which are skill shortage vacancies. In order to develop construction skills for major projects associated with the Olympics, a National Skills Academy has been set up. (The press release can be viewed at the Department of Education and Skills website at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgipn_id=2005_0129) According to a survey conducted by the CIOB, 89% of respondents felt there was a shortage of training placements in Britain. They felt that one of the prime causes for the construction skills shortage was the poor image of the industry, which was competing with several newer and more attractive industries. Besides these, they felt that certain policies pertaining to new-entrants also resulted in skill shortages. (The CIOB press release on skills shortage survey can be viewed at http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/releaseid=151701) The construction industry often reflects the economy itself. Just like the economy, the construction industry too goes through phases of robust growth, stagnation and even depression. During a lackluster period, skilled workers become redundant and are often forced to seek employment elsewhere or even switch professions. However, when the industry starts to look up, there is again a need for trained people, thus leading to a skill shortage. The Huntsman Associates report titled 'Staffing the Construction Industry in the North East' discusses the nature of the construction industry and the availability of skilled professionals in Britain, especially in the northeast region. This report emphasises on factoring this boom/bust nature of the industry while recruiting