Construction leaders publish plan for the sector post-Brexit

Major construction leaders have published a plan for the sector to continue growth and deal with change after Brexit.

Building after Brexit: An Action Plan for Industry was released by bodies of construction leaders to provide ideas on preventing the sector from declining when Britain leaves the EU. The plan is based on two years of research and was formulated by the Construction Leadership Council, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, the Construction Products Association, the Federation of Master Builders, the Home Builders Federation, and CITB.

The report particularly focuses on the issue of accessing migrant workers as well as building a domestic workforce after Brexit. It estimates that at the current rate of growth the industry will have to fill over 250,000 jobs by 2025.

The plan proposes that new apprenticeships are started and the number of workers leaving the industry is reduced to replace migrant workers lost after Brexit. It also highlights issues such as the need for the industry to offer mental health support and improving working conditions and stability.

The report encourages the industry to promote itself to prospective employees especially from other sectors, modernise internal systems, and support unemployed people in entering the industry. The overall emphasis is on making the industry more appealing to join and to discourage workers from leaving.

For the government, the report encourages improving and increasing apprenticeship schemes, provide more training options, and creating integration with apprenticeships and T Levels. It also recommends that the CIBT improve funding along with career guidance, and complete the Construction Skills Fund (CSF).

The plan recommends working with the government to implement these changes. As well as worker retention there is a big emphasis in the plan on modernisation, both to improve conditions in the industry for workers and to maintain growth with its current rate despite the changes.

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