New research unveils 18% of Brits are seeking a career in the trades as a result of the pandemic
- 18% of Brits agree that after COVID, have found employment within a trade sector to pick up additional work or to commence a new career path
- 15% of tradespeople have seen their client demand increase post-COVID to their highest levels ever
Ben Dyer, CEO of Powered Now discusses the UK’s vocational skills gap
Research by the Office for National Statistics states that the
employment rate in the construction sector for the UK fell from 2.3 million in
2017, to 2.1 million at the end of 2020. This demonstrates a 4% decrease in
UK-born workers, and a 42% fall in EU workers. In London, employment fell from
311,124 workers in 2017, to 261,271 at the end of 2020, representing a 54% fall
in EU workers, which has only led to further difficulties considering the
construction industry was relied on heavily during the pandemic.
Whilst an array of challenges for the skilled workforce has come to the surface
by the pandemic, the trade sectors has seen exponential growth, proving to
be the only retail sector to have grown throughout the pandemic, alongside
groceries. Fuelled by the home improvement boom in the UK, the market research
provider Kantar has indicated that £4.94 billion was spent on home improvements
last year, £552 million than the previous 12 months, ensuring many tradespeople
have been inundated with work, creating employment opportunities throughout
lockdown for those who have changed their career path.
However, with such a large number of EU workers from the UK has left the
industry, this is leaving the construction sector suffering from a further
employment drought. New national research from Powered Now, a
field service management software that specialises in trades, has unveiled that
18% of Brits have sought a new career path in the trades as a result of the
pandemic. Furthermore, the research has indicated that the pandemic has been a
catalyst for diversifying the UK’s trade workforce, with 15% of those
considering the trades as a career being female.
Key Statistics
- 18% of Brits agree that after COVID, have found employment within a trade sector to pick up additional work or to commence a new career path
- 15% of tradespeople have seen their client demand increase post-COVID
- 17% of tradespeople regularly work over 10 hours a day
- 16% of tradespeople agree that they lose out on business due to extensive administrative tasks, such as chasing invoices
- 16% of tradespeople agree that sequential waves of COVID has made them more motivated to work
The
UK Skills Drought
The UK construction workforce is an ageing one, with over 20%
of tradespeople being over fifty and 15% being in their sixties. The
problem was a simple one, as these electricians, builders and plumbers
retire, the same percentage of young people were not entering these professions.
Although there are many opportunities in the trade industry, many young people
were simply not choosing it as a career. This is despite that 74% of
parents in a recent YouGov survey would encourage their child to learn the
skilled trades. However only 3% of young people aged between 18-24 have
searched for a job in the trade industry. Now however, the tide is turning in
favour of the labour market, and Brits are seeking new career paths in the
trades at record rates, and for good reason.
Powered Now’s research had further unveiled that 15% of the UK’s skilled trade
workforce were experiencing their highest levels of client demand during the
pandemic.
Ben Dyer, CEO of Powered Now, has commented on the research
and how this revival in business has caused a welcome increase in
productivity and growth for the sector.
“Withshortagesof supplies and labour, the whole
industry is still in catch up mode and the various projects that were delayed
by sequential lockdowns, are now taking priority. This has helped to spike
demand and we expect it to continue in the short term. Our research has
entirely confirmed that tradespeople and consumers alike are very much
eager to sustain this growth.
“Our SME customers are
also talking about the pressure to complete jobs as they don’t have enough
boots on the ground. As we have seen from the sentiments established in this
research, a new wave of tradespeople are more motivated to work and are
commencing their work on home improvements even sooner. These concerns are
also sure to help the sector bounce back even quicker as people will rush
to hire a tradesperson for their desired work.”