May 2016
Featured in this insight: Central government & non-department public bodies, Charity & not-for-profit, Construction, IT & telecommunications, Local & regional government
2 in 3 Brits would not consider a job in construction, survey finds: A recent construction survey commissioned by Construction United has revealed that approximately 2 in 3 British people would not consider starting a career in the construction sector.
According to the Government’s National Infrastructure Plan for Skills report, the construction sector is currently suffering from a skills shortage, with approximately 100,000 construction workers needed to cope with Britain’s infrastructure construction demands. The survey findings were anticipated to showcase the reality of the construction industry and the public’s perception of it as a sector.
As part of the market research, the researchers questioned 2,000 members of the general public about their perceptions of a variety of industries. The findings revealed that the majority of the participants would never think about a career in the construction sector, at a rate of 67 per cent. On the other hand, 17 per cent said that they would consider one.
The survey findings also revealed that construction work is not viewed as an academic field, with 41 per cent of the participants revealing that they think it is one of the industries which would least requite any higher or further education qualifications. A further 40 per cent said the same of the armed forces and 39 per cent said the same of charity work.
The phrases and words that the respondents used to describe the industry illustrate reasons why so few people would consider a career in construction. Of the survey respondents, 68 per cent described construction as ‘strenuous’ and 58 per cent said ‘dirty’. On the other hand, 11 per cent described the industry as ‘exciting’.
The construction industry currently accounts for in excess of 6 per cent of the United Kingdom’s GDP and has a few image issues to overcome, with 23 per cent of the respondents viewing construction as creating traffic, a mess and inconvenience.
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