Yudu - Construction Manager Sept 2014

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the industry to other national agendas, such as boosting economic productivity and well-being through building effi cient workplaces, good schools and high-quality housing; the industry’s contribution to mitigating climate change and its appetite for highly-skilled, digitally savvy professionals. Blythe commented: “We’re saying, in backing construction, you’re backing an innovative, high-tech industry that employs the best minds the country produces. We’re not the industry you go to if you can’t fi nd work elsewhere — I can think of other candidates for that!” Rather than targeting specifi c goals, the CIOB’s aim is to build engagement with a new generation of MPs to seek dividends over the long term. “MPs need to have an understanding of the industry within their constituencies,” added Blythe. “We’re raising the profi le of the industry and of construction management, and looking to infl uence people at the right time.

“It’s about developing a ‘fan base’ at

local level, that we can then plug into, so we can then move to raise our profi le and infl uence people who understand the issues. It’s the ideal opportunity to develop our profi le with people who are potential MPs.”

AN INTRODUCTION 1

He also added that construction’s well- meaning efforts to be a “good neighbour” has led to the trend of camoufl aging sites behind impenetrable hoardings. “We’ve hidden what we do — these days, you no longer even get peep holes in site hoardings. Buildings disappear as if by magic. So we want to make them a place that people think about a bit more.”

The quality of our built environment affects every member of society. It influences productivity and wellbeing at home and at work.

PROJECTS LAST LONGER THAN GOVERNMENTS

Major projects such as Crossrail, the Olympic Park, nuclear power stations or HS2 last longer than a five-year Government term. Houses, hospitals and schools are used for generations.

Mistakes can be costly and felt by communities for decades. If we are to create high quality, smarter, more flexible, energy efficient buildings we need to get it right first time.

CIOB represents leaders and managers who work at every stage of the lifecycle of a construction project; the visionaries who shape our towns, cities and infrastructure. We’re not just looking at the next five years: we’re planning for the next fifty.

accounts for roughly 10% of the output, and 90% of the discussion.” The CIOB’s Guide to the Built

CIOB: CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE STARTS HERE

Environment will be jostling for attention with publications from the RIBA, ICE and other industry institutions. The RIBA’s report Building Better Britain: A Vision for the Next Government calls for “an end to cheap schools, reform of the green belt and liberation of under-performing English cities”. Meanwhile, the ICE’s pre-election

3 CIOB GUIDE TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

manifesto will be based on its State of the Nation, Infrastructure 2014 report.

9 CIOB GUIDE TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT CIOB GUIDE TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT 10 CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | SEPTEMBER 2014 | 5

“Construction is a powerful industry – mistakes leave deep scars, but successes breed success. In the recent past, the industry has worked hard to rethink its social, economic and environmental responsibilities and reshape

its role as an employer.” CHRIS BLYTHE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

LEADING ON SKILLS

Innovative technologies are transforming the construction sector, revolutionising daily tasks on site and in the office. Companies increasingly need to recruit a new breed of worker, strong in digital and data management skills and able to collaborate across several technical disciplines.

280, 000 COMPANIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Construction’s rapidly modernising image presents a powerful opportunity to attract a more diverse workforce, bringing in expertise from other industries. But many workers left the sector during the recession and the skills gap is widening. An ongoing lack of home grown talent will put UK companies at a disadvantage to international competitors, both at home and abroad. A critical shortage of skilled workers could also slow down projects that are important for economic recovery.

13% OF GDP £45bn ANNUAL GOVERNMENT SPEND

2.9M JOBS 10% OF TOTAL UK EMPLOYMENT

2008

£100bn OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS TO 2020

THE CHALLENGE

4 19% of the construction workforce is set to retire within the next 5 to 10 years

4 Enrolment on undergraduate construction degrees has reduced by 43% since 2008

4 The number of apprenticeships in the sector is declining – currently 33% lower than in 2010

4 And yet there are 182,000 construction jobs to be filled by 2018

TALK TO US ABOUT

4 Why the professional role of Chartered Construction Manager is essential for modernising both construction itself and academia, ensuring appropriately skilled people enter the industry

4 CIOB’s work on youth unemployment and apprenticeships. Our practical recommendations were included in the Parliamentary report No More Lost Generations, published February 2014

CIOB GUIDE TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT 4 2010

4 How public procurement policy can be used to create effective training courses for local communities

Construction is presented as a modern, high-tech industry that needs to recruit workers with digital and data skills and also expertise in other industries.

2014 33%

19% RETIRING WITHIN THE NEXT 5 TO 10 YEARS

UNDERGRADUATE ENROLMENT HAS REDUCED BY 43% SINCE 2008

2014 43%

‘Planning for the next 50 years’

The CIOB Guide to the Built Environment and the accompanying report, The Real Face of Construction, aim to present a more nuanced portrait of the industry than the one often presented to the generalist audience: that construction is a labour-intensive industry whose chief role in supporting the wider economy is to provide an infi nite number of jobs for the low-skilled. Instead, it spotlights the role of technology,

BIM and offsite construction, and the knock-on implications for the skills and higher education agendas. As the guide argues, “to create a steady pipeline of training, innovation and investment, stable long term policies are essential”. And rather than highlighting an impending

“skills shortage”, the guide addresses the need to promote innovation to boost productivity. “If the industry keeps doing things the same way, we will just end up with the same problems,” Chris Blythe told CM. The guide argues for policies that spread the benefi ts of construction and infrastructure beyond

the over-heating south east to the major cities of the north, with the accompanying report containing “recommendations for placing construction front and centre of a rebalanced economy”. It also takes up the government’s Construction

2025 agenda — the CIOB and others are assuming that any future Labour government would also back its challenging targets — and calls for ongoing support for the role of Chief Construction Adviser. The guide says

CIOB GUIDE TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

CONSTRUCTION: ARE YOU IN IT FOR THE LONG TERM?

that construction is a “local, national and international story” and also stresses the long-range nature of CIOB members’ activities, pointing out that “we’re not just looking at the next fi ve years, we’re planning for the next 50”.

The guide highlights how the quality of the built environment affects every member of society, infl uencing the productivity and well-being of the whole population

182,000 CONSTRUCTION JOBS TO BE FILLED BY 2018

APPRENTICESHIPS FALLEN BY 33% FROM 2010

100

BILLION

Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA Archive/Press Association Images