Actis encourages A level and GCSE students to consider construction careers

Students digesting their A level and GCSE results this summer are being encouraged to consider pursuing a career in construction by insulation specialist Actis.

With the new government committing to delivering 1.5 million new homes during the current parliament, the industry needs more people to work in areas such as architecture, planning, quantity surveying, land acquisition, infrastructure and legal work, as well as practical skills like bricklaying and carpentry.

The Skills England Bill announced last month is aimed at addressing a severe labour shortage in the construction industry and, along with the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, will pave the way towards creating the homes the government plans to deliver over the coming five years.

Actis UK and Ireland sales director Mark Cooper says a key element in achieving this aim is to ramp up training opportunities for young people within the construction industry.

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) says a quarter of a million new workers will be required between now and 2028 to achieve this target and the NHBC adds that current build volumes must more than double to hit the government’s goal.

The desire to work in construction is there, at least in younger childhood, according to a recent survey of 100,000 young people by the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), which found that it is one of the preferred career paths for students by the time they reach 11 years old.

And the CITB has seen almost one million visits to its Go Construct website so far this year, with a third of users under 18 and 33% identifying as female, all of which shows enthusiasm which needs to be matched with opportunity.