Great news has been reported for construction companies, with figures showing a clear level of confidence in the industry as the value of contracts rose to a new peak for the year last month – the total value of contracts coming in at a notable figure of £6.1bn.

In comparison to February, the total value of construction contracts for the month was 10% higher, signifying a considerable increase and perhaps renewing confidence yet further in the continued prosperity of the industry. Should the trend persist, then this will naturally show a considerable strengthening of the construction industry, which comes to the relief of many after previously turbulent economic conditions.

The figures outlined for last month also then reflect the CITB’s forecast seen in its Construction Skills Network report, showing that circa 230,000 jobs may be created over the course of the coming five years in line with construction sector growth – a speed of 2.5% each year predicted for this very growth.

Of course, concerns are still amidst as to the sector’s capacity to deliver the increasing workloads coming through the sector, as skill shortages remain a prominent limiting factor in being able to take on a greater workload. As such, CITB conceived GoConstruct alongside prominent construction sector figures to offer an online resource of information for tomorrow’s workforce so as best to support their construction-sector careers.

Commenting on the findings, Barbour ABI’s Michael Dall highlighted the results as encouraging, pinpointing housebuilding as one of the key areas within which growth has been seen, storming far ahead within the construction sector as supply attempts to catch up with the ever-increasing demand for residential homes. He added: “With both the commercial & retail and infrastructure sectors increasing their levels of activity in March, it would be good to see this continue and take some of the pressure away from private housing, which has been the only sector that has continually grown and at times propped up the industry in recent years.”