“Go Construct” launched to help meet skills crisis

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The construction industry is today launching ‘Go Construct’, a new campaign to encourage people to consider a career in construction in an effort to fill more than 220,000 new jobs that will be created in the sector.

The initiative comes as research shows four in five Brits wish they had received more advice and guidance about working in construction when considering their career options.

Responding to feedback from employers, CITB is supporting the campaign with £5million of levy funding over three years. CITB has brought all of the industry to speak with one voice. More than 400 organisations including employers, careers advisors, teachers, lecturers and construction ambassadors have been involved in the design of the campaign that has been tested with 700 real users.

The campaign aims to challenge some of the outdated stereotypes about what working in construction is really like, and demonstrate the hundreds of career options and entry routes available. It is launching against growing skill needs and opportunities in construction.

Designer Wayne Hemingway MBE, whose design agency has a number of award winning social housing and construction projects under its belt, is a spokesperson for the campaign.

He said: “There is real honour in being part of a team that delivers the nation’s schools, hospitals, public buildings and spaces and the homes that we need. We are in danger of becoming a nation where management consultants have no offices to consult in and beauticians have no beauty parlours to beautify in.

“We need bricklayers and plasterers but equally we need occupational health nurses, environmental sustainability experts and people who can programme the advanced design systems that make modern construction projects possible. Whatever your skills and interests there is likely to be a construction career you can excel in.”

One of the organisations supporting the campaign is Morgan Sindall, a UK construction, infrastructure and design business. Pat Boyle, Managing Director, Construction, welcomed the campaign’s launch, saying:

“Too often have we seen sectors within the construction industry in competition for talent. What this industry really needs is to have one holistic voice to bring in the very best, people who choose a career in construction ahead of any other sector.

“If we are to bridge the impending skills gap and attract the more than 220,000 people we need, we must put our full support behind initiatives such as Go Construct.”

Go Construct features an online portal at www.GoConstruct.org including a careers explorer that matches users’ interests and skills to a wide range of roles, from diamond drilling to quantity surveying. A public advertising and social media campaign will support it.

Activities and materials for teachers and careers advisors such as a myth buster card game can be downloaded from the site for use in classrooms. Go Construct will help people from all backgrounds to understand why construction is a ‘career like no other’.