Heather Holbrook is a partner at consultancy Thomas & Adamson, part of Egis Group
Construction has never enjoyed the best reputation as a career path. Last year, research found that 69 per cent of UK adults wouldn’t consider a career in the sector, rising to 77 per cent among respondents aged 18 to 24. That is a major problem for an industry that needs to attract and train more than 250,000 people by 2028.
“Studies have suggested that children as young as seven are starting to make decisions about their future careers”
Much of it can be put down to perceptions about the industry. There has been a great deal of change during my time working in construction – some of the experiences of my early career would be unthinkable now – but the reputation the sector has from bygone years persists.
One that always comes up when I visit schools to talk about careers is the lack of women in the industry. The sector is still skewed male – females account for only 15.8 per cent of construction workers. While that is too low, it is a record high and is up on 12.6 per cent prior to the pandemic.
The increase points to progress – and through my work as an external examiner at Glasgow Caledonian University, I see signs of more coming. I was one of just four women undertaking the part-time quantity surveying course in 2008; now, the split is more like 60/40.
Then there is the perception of the roles available in construction. Bricklayer, joiner and architect usually come up, and if you’re not academically minded, you’re pigeonholed for the first two.
When I speak to children and young adults, they are genuinely surprised and interested to hear about the many roles in the industry. They want to know about careers like quantity surveying and project management, and how to get into them.
It’s equally important to explain there are multiple routes into construction – you don’t need straight As at school and university education for quantity surveying, for example. You can pursue an HND or HNC, undertake an apprenticeship, or combine working with university study through a part-time degree.
Not all of these options are available with every discipline. But it demonstrates to young people that there isn’t one path to a successful career and not getting the right grades in school doesn’t necessarily limit their options.
Better engagement
As an industry, we need to address these preconceptions – and better engage with young people and the adults that shape their career choices.
The first way we can do that is by giving the industry more of a digital footprint. Capturing what we do day-to-day in our jobs on platforms like TikTok and Instagram would provide visual and instantaneous information to a generation gathering so much of what they know through social media.
We also need to speak to careers advisers so that they understand the breadth and depth of career options available in construction. Too often people default to what they think a typical construction job is, when there are so many other choices.
Finally, we can do more to explain the different routes to get where we are. Unlike other sectors, construction has the advantage of offering multiple paths – many of which don’t require young people to accumulate vast student debt. That can be a real differentiator.
Studies have suggested that children as young as seven are starting to make decisions about their future careers. But they can only do that if they understand the broad range of options available to them, how to get into each, and the realities of what those career choices entail.
