Construction careers gap revealed in CITB report
The latest report from the Construction Industry Training Board shows increased apathy among career advisers when it comes to construction roles, with 35% believing the sector is an unattractive career opportunity.
The CITB report, Educating the Educators, surveyed 800 career influencers such as teachers and guidance counsellors across the UK on their views of the construction industry. The report showed 60% of careers advisers in schools offer no information on available construction jobs, with 35% not rating the sector as a positive career move. The report also highlighted that, according to Ofsted reports, 75% of all schools visited are not fulfilling their legal duty when it comes to providing skills advice.
Since September 2012, schools have been legally responsible for securing access to independent and impartial careers guidance for all their students in Years 9 to 11, but many are falling short of this obligation by not providing sufficient career support.
The construction industry is set to create 180,000 jobs in the next five years and needs around 120,000 construction apprentices, the CITB said. In the North West, around 2,970 construction recruits are required every year between 2014 and 2018. Construction firms across the region will need to recruit approximately 3,100 apprentices every year for the next five years.
Steve Housden, sector strategy manager for CITB North West, said: "This is depressing but illustrates how important it is for all of us involved in the construction industry to help ourselves. We can't leave it to existing careers advice. We need to accept that we are in a beauty parade with other sectors, some of which are doing a better job of selling themselves.
"We are calling on employers to work with us to attract talent into our industry. Together we are ideally placed to inspire and recruit the next generation of apprentices by getting into schools and setting out the stall for teachers and pupils."
To read the full report visit http://www.citb.co.uk/careers-in-construction/educating-educators-careers-research-report/
