Skills and Labour Shortage

Skills and labour shortage.

It’s a well-known and widely discussed topic that's been spreading throughout the entire Built Environment for some time now and doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Brexit and Covid will no doubt be blamed for a portion of it. However, I believe one of the main reasons is because the vast majority of younger people haven’t been educated on the number of potential careers there are among the various sectors within the Built Environment or even know what it is.

To be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me if I was to learn there are people working within the sector right now, that have never even heard the term “Built Environment”. Have you?

Millennials & and more recently, Generation Z’ have been raised on technology. It has possibly shaped their entire lives. The way they communicate with friends and family. The way they consume products, watch movies, play games, get sports results, listen to music. The way they interact with brands.

They see “influencers” on sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok on a daily basis supposedly making “thousands” by doing very little work. Or so they’ll have them believe.

With this in mind, it stands to reason that they see a career in tech as a much more glamourous and viable option to take. Wouldn’t you agree?

It’s a shame because these young people haven’t been shown how highly regarded and rewarding a career in construction could be, or where it could take them in regard to one day running their own construction business.

I read an article a few months back written by a 16-year-old. He was explaining that "people his age view certain jobs, particularly in construction, as low-paid menial work for unintelligent people with little to no prospects". Completely wrong of course, some of the most intelligent people I know work within construction in some capacity.

But you can't blame them for thinking this way if they haven’t been given the right information?

They probably don’t understand that without a fully maintained, working fire alarm and integrated access control system, the 24-hour gym they attend on a Friday night to work on those abs couldn’t open. Or the petrol station from which they purchase their fuel couldn’t operate very well without a CCTV system allowing the staff member to see who’s filling up.

They probably never realised that the water they drink from the tap goes through a rigorous filter process and travels along several miles of underground pipes before it reaches their homes, or that the power needed to charge up their lifelines every night (mobile phone) wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for the skilled and highly educated people that work within the Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing sector (MEP).

The next generation – what are you doing about it?

These are just some of the things that the younger generations should and need to be made aware of. So, what will you be doing to help combat this ever-growing situation?

In regards to the next generation of builders, construction workers, plumbers, electricians, fire & security engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, maintenance engineers etc, where will they come from? How can we get the message out there? How are you going to educate, encourage, entice & inspire young people to look at a career in your sector?

With a generation heading towards retirement, people moving up the career ladder, blue collars being replaced by white. Something needs to be done now. Before it’s too late.

We’re going to do our bit and utilise the very thing that these young people live for. Social Media. If you want to learn how we can help you get your message across, please get in touch.

Let’s work together and start changing their mindsets. Today.

Thanks for reading. Darren.

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