Skills shortage – isn’t it just the norm these days?

In almost every industry publication you pick up at the moment you will see talk around the growing skills shortage in the construction industry. In every area of this vital sector we are seeing a lack of new talent entering the market and building control is no different. Set against a backdrop of a severe housing gap with 1.2 million fewer homes being built than are needed in the UK*, this skills shortage is likely have a massive impact in the medium to long term on the industry’s ability to deliver some crucially important government targets but what can be done to reverse this trend and encourage more young people, and those looking for a career change, that the construction sector can offer long term growth and development?

In the building control sector, decreasing numbers of new talent could have a serious knock on effect. Without the qualified professional to sign of a property when it is completed, valuable new homes could lie empty for months, doing nothing to improve the welfare of vulnerable people. Developers could also see delays to return on investment with costly insurance premiums being levied to protect the work at the point of sale.

Building control as an industry needs to take control of its own destiny and challenge the misconceptions about its role in the boarder construction sector. Changes in the recent Building Safety Act actually help to demonstrate that we are not the compliance police but a crucial consultative service to every part of the construction chain from architect to developer and even homeowner. A good building control surveyor can add real value to a developer, helping them to develop more thermally efficient and sustainable homes which can command greater resale value.

The Building Safety Act sets out the framework upon which the industry needs to move forward and the building control surveyor will play a pivotal role in helping to ensure all of the requirements of the BSA and its regulatory body, the Building Safety Regulator, are adhered to whilst also creating safe and secure buildings for the eventual occupants, be it commercial or residential.

Building control will continue to play a pivotal role in the built environment and offers excellent progression opportunities to anyone who is interested in building design, construction and safety. It’s a career where we never stop learning, always being challenged to find new and innovative ways to support the industry to be the best that it can be. If you are up for a role that will stretch your skills and see you playing a pivotal role within this vital UK industry then building control could be the job you have been looking for.

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*According to the BBC’s Housing Briefing