Construction is Blooming!
15 May 2017
So the first quarter is over and Spring is in the air within the construction industry. According to two of the latest surveys from Markit and CIPS, infrastructure and housebuilding projects are driving overall growth within the industry.
So is this good news? We would like to think so, however there are still concerns over the skills shortage. With prime minister Theresa May this week committing to HS2 and work on Hinkley Point C well under way, there remains plenty of opportunity in the infrastructure space.
That said there are those within the industry that say that the future government housebuilding ambitions may well need to be tempered. RICS stated 'the shortage of bricklayers remains a problem'.
We will all need to be looking at the Tory and Labour manifestos to see what they have planned to reassure us that we have adequate workforce to fulfil their housing and infrastructure promises.
Additionally, we heard earlier in the week, rumblings about the fact that health and safety fines have risen sharply over the past year. Will this have an impact as some construction companies, large and small, go bust? Potentially yes. We have yet to see a strategy from the government as to how they will bridge the skills gap that is so apparent in the construction industry.