Infrastructure growth needs 6500 more civil engineers by 2020

Nearly  6500 more civil engineers are needed by 2020 to meet growth infrastucture construction according to the The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).

 The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is calling for more apprenticeships in response to its 2.5% annual growth forecast for the next five years – which could see 232,000 new jobs created. CITB’s latest Construction Skills Network (CSN) report predicts sustained growth from 2016-2020, driven by infrastructure and private housing.

 New nuclear power stations at Hinkley Point, Somerset, and Wylfa, Anglesey, alongside rail projects such as Crossrail and HS2, will drive year-on-year infrastructure growth of 6.1%. The commercial construction sector will experience growth of 3.4% per annum, while private housebuilding will also experience sustained growth across the forecast period. Output in the housebuilding is expected return to pre-recession levels by the end of the forecast period, reaching £26bn by 2020. Its report says 1,270 civil engineers will need to be recuited annually,1730 other construction professionals and technical staff will be needed; and 490 architects per year.

 Steve Radley, Policy Director at the CITB, says: “All types of training, and especially apprenticeships, will be vital to delivering this pipeline of work. We can’t build the Britain we want without growing apprenticeships – and the careers they lead onto. That’s why it is vital that these new statistics, showing solid, sustained growth, inspire more people join the construction industry. The positive forecast should inspire more people to start apprenticeships, and more firms to take them on.

 “We also want to attract workers who have left the industry to return, and upskill those currently in the sector, so we can deliver major projects and new housing faster and better.”

 UK construction growth is set to be fourth highest in Europe up to 2017, with British builders outstripping those in Germany, France and Spain.

 Annual growth is predicted in all the UK’s regions and nations up to 2020, with Wales faring best with year-on-year growth of 7.1%, followed by the South West (4.4%), London (3.5%), and the North West (2.6%).

 In response to the ongoing skills challenge, the CITB is in 2016 launching a series of new partnerships with local and regional training providers to make sure the right training takes place where it is needed most.

 It is also continuing to work closely with the construction industry to further develop Go Construct, an industry-led web portal, to showcase the opportunities in the industry and encourage more people to join the sector.