Practical Steps to Make our Industry More Appealing as a Fulfilling Career

The time for analysis is over. We know our industry faces tough times. Many skilled employees are nearing retirement, skilled foreign labour may be harder to secure, and the industry is changing to demand a broader range of non-traditional skills.

At the same time we have to build new homes and schools at rates we haven’t achieved for decades, complete ambitious infrastructure projects and deliver greater value and sustainability through the built environment.

We don’t have a sustainable future unless we succeed in becoming more attractive to a wider cross-section of the population. So what should we be doing about it?

Use Change as an Opportunity

Changes to the way projects are procured, designed, planned and executed are transforming the industry. The evolving jobs and skills needs are often the ones that can attract people who wouldn’t have considered construction their ‘sector of choice.’

With this evolution comes the need to rethink where we recruit from. We will continue to need civil engineers, quantity surveyors and so on, but we also need to reach out to mathematicians, statisticians, designers, data scientists and any discipline that teaches the ability to manage, interpret and communicate complex information.

Not many sectors can match the story we can tell about career prospects and the opportunity to do work of real value and that leaves such as physical legacy.

The focus of engagement work through programmes such as the STEM Ambassadors becomes increasingly important but is also shifting in its focus. While we want more young people to follow technical disciplines we also want them to understand how they could apply their knowledge in the construction sector, whatever subjects they choose.

Engineer the Pathways

We need more entry points into the industry for people of all ages. People may have transferable skills gained in another sector and we see it as our job to help them make the transition and build on what they can already do.

Many young people aspire to a graduate level job but without the debt and academic focus that a full time degree course entails. Apprenticeship and training programmes are evolving to reflect this reality and the pace of change needs to increase.

Become More Flexible

We are not the only sector that will be battling to attract skilled and talented people. We won’t succeed if we are perceived as being an industry that demands long and unsocial hours and where a balanced work and home life seems unattainable. If we want a more diverse workforce we have to meet more diverse needs, such as part time and flexible working hours.

Engage with the Underrepresented

Women and people from BAME backgrounds haven’t found the thought of working in construction appealing. Osborne continues to work hard as a business to engage with different communities and to promote the Fairness, Inclusion and Respect agenda. We constantly review our recruitment adverts to ensure they reflect the inclusive nature of our business.

We have consciously widened our recruitment searches outside of our immediate industry sector. Our hiring managers have been trained to eliminate unconscious gender bias and we have been successful in attracting more balanced candidate shortlists. In the last year we have increased the number of female employees by 35%. This illustrates what can be achieved with a concerted effort.

What looks like a problem could actually be an opportunity to rejuvenate our industry with fresh ideas and new approaches. It’s vital that we seize that opportunity!