Can Construction Attract and Retain Talent After Brexit?

Suzanne Treen, Director in the Employment team at Walker Morris LLP, discusses the key considerations for the construction industry post-Brexit and the importance of attracting and retaining talent.

As the United Kingdom resumes its discussions surrounding leaving the EU’s single market and customs union, we can expect there to be a considerable impact on the construction sector. The industry relies heavily on migrant workers from other EU countries and the end of free movement post-Brexit will almost certainly lead to challenges for the sector, with the potential for a real skills shortage.

Inevitably, the overall pool of candidates who are free from immigration restrictions will be smaller from January 2021, when free movement for European nationals ends.  Whilst the construction sector is a key driver of jobs and economic growth in the UK, it is likely to be an industry that could be especially hard hit in 2021 and beyond. With one of the highest proportions of migrant workers within its labour force, it is vital that the construction industry prepares for the changes that will come into force after the Brexit transition deadline, to minimise the impact on its workforce and to ensure that it can continue to attract and retain the best talent.[1]

Given the inevitable increase in competition for the best people, now is the time for all businesses start to think about recruitment practices and incentivising existing staff.  Here are four things we are seeing businesses concentrate on in their HR strategy planning:

1. Re-thinking business values and culture

There is no doubt that we are seeing a greater push for businesses to give more weight to ethical and social commitments as part of the work they do. Initiatives relating to the environment, sustainability and ethical working practices are now a must for many individuals when searching for an employer, so it is important to think about communicating the positive values and culture of your business to attract the best talent for the future.

It is also essential to have genuine equality and diversity practices in place, with many businesses now opting to publish diversity data and taking steps to address under-representation, such as signing up to the Race at Work Charter.  Tackling diversity and gender imbalances is especially important in the construction industry. According to the 2018 Office for National Statistics Survey, the construction industry is made up by just 12% female employees in the workforce with only 1% of those working onsite[2], whilst just 5.4% of workers are from BAME backgrounds.[3] Confronting and taking steps to overcome these disparities could help to open up a new pool of talent for employers.

2. Consider applying for a sponsor licence

As a construction company, if you want to look outside of the UK workforce to recruit skilled individuals, now is the time to apply for a sponsor licence. The Government is actively encouraging businesses to do so in preparation for the end of free movement for European nationals from 1 January 2021.  There are now almost 39,000 UK registered sponsor licence holders, but the numbers are increasing daily given the end of freedom of movement. My advice is if you haven’t done so already, get your application for a sponsor licence in as soon as possible so that you can continue to enjoy access to a global talent pool beyond the UK market.

For employers who already have a licence, there are still significant changes to the immigration rules to get to grips with and the new rules have now been published. We explain the rule changes and what they mean for businesses more in our recent webinar that you can find here. While the aim of the new rules is to streamline some aspects of the points based system, it should be noted that there are still prescriptive requirements about who is eligible for sponsorship, stringent duties on sponsors, and significant costs involved.

3. Investing in people through training and apprenticeships

Retaining the talent you already have will be key to ensure your business is ready in a post-Brexit landscape. Training and investment in your staff not only encourages better performance and productivity, but it also signals a long-term commitment to developing your people. This could lead to more internal promotions, giving employees the opportunity to progress in their careers and boosting staff retention rates.  In addition, offering apprenticeships to encourage junior entrants, particularly in roles which focus on the development of specialist construction technology and software, can also assist with filling skills gaps.

Now is the time to create a plan for apprenticeships, particularly as the Government has increased incentive payments for apprentices hired between 1 August 2020 and 31 January 2021.

It also key to note that, in summer 2021, an unsponsored graduate route is expected to be launched in the UK allowing international students the opportunity to stay in the UK to work or to look for work after they graduate. An unsponsored route for highly skilled workers is also expected to be introduced under the points-based system, which will allow a small number of the most highly skilled workers in the construction industry to enter the UK without a job offer.

4. A focus on long-term flexible working

Whilst working from home is likely to be a default for many roles for some time, for many workers in the construction sector, this will not be possible and this is why it has been important to keep construction sites open throughout the pandemic wherever possible and safe to do so.  Many employees have enjoyed the flexibility brought by the homeworking project, and businesses with office-based roles could consider offering more flexible ways of working in the future, where possible, for the workforce in order to incentivise and retain staff.

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[1] http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/2020/02/19/restrictions-to-immigration-and-work-in-the-uk-construction-industry/

[3] https://www.ukconstructionmedia.co.uk/features/building-diversity-construction/